


Stay

by Calix



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Depression, F/M, Suicide, attempted suicide, tags will update as I go, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2018-09-16 01:11:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9267110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calix/pseuds/Calix
Summary: This is in the description but I will put it here as well. This doesn't have a set update schedule. It may never have a set schedule because I only plan on writing this when I am at my lowest and need to basically get my emotions out somehow.  Who knows?





	1. Warning

**This story talks about things that may trigger you. Please read at your own discretion. I'm putting this trigger warning here so that I don't have to put it in every single chapter. This story is dark and will be dark. If you continue reading despite this warning then I am not held responsible for it.**

**You have been warned.**

**Also this is a work of fiction and NOT reflective of my current mindset or of anyone in my life. I just needed to get the bad feelings out and this story was the result. Don't worry. I'm 100% fine. I promise.**


	2. Beautiful Stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is in the description but I will put it here as well. This doesn't have a set update schedule. It may never have a set schedule because I only plan on writing this when I am at my lowest and need to basically get my emotions out somehow. Who knows?

  


Life wasn’t what you thought it would be. It was never the way people, TV shows, and movies portrayed it. ‘Live your life to the fullest!’ that’s what they say. But what you’re doing isn’t living. It’s existing. Your parents are both dead. Leaving behind a mountain of debt and a shitty house that you can barely pay for. Your job is slowly chipping away at what is left of your sanity and happiness. Each time you go to work, you’re walking on a tightrope with the wind blowing against you. One wrong move and you’ll topple off the rope to the unforgiving ground. A balancing act that is impossible to keep up. There. At your job. You can’t do anything right. With the way your boss is, you never will. Forever a worthless failure. Just there so that you can be a convenient verbal punching bag. You want to leave but where will you go? There isn’t anything you can fall back on and having a job is better than the alternative.

Every day it’s the same thing. You wake up. Go to work. Come home. Sleep. Repeat over and over like a song set on an endless loop. This life, that is yours, isn’t worth attempting to live. Not anymore, at least.

 

What’s the point in even trying anymore?

Why should I try?

I shouldn’t.

I’m tired.

I’m done with all of this.

No more.

 

Your mind was made up. Stepping out of your parents’ house, you ignore the blistering cold that wraps around your body from the wintry night. It’s fitting. The winter weather seems to be mirroring the complacent cold that has seeped into your soul long ago. It doesn’t even bother you, despite the fact that you’re not dressed for the weather at all. A T-shirt and jeans with an old pair of sneakers.

 

What’s the point in changing when it’s going to be over soon anyway?

 

Your feet seem to already have a plan whereas your mind is hazy. They carry you to your final destination without any guidance. The park. It’s late in the day. The sun had just finished setting and the parking lot is vacant save for a couple of stray cars. Probably teens looking to hook up or some people wanting to look at the stars. Regardless, you won’t be disturbed.

Taking an abrupt turn, your feet crunch in the snow as you head off the path towards the secluded lake in the back. Tall trees looming over your small shivering form. How is it that your body seems to feel the cold but you’re numb inside? It has pierced your physical shell. It has yet to pierce your mental one. Soon it never will.

You stop right at the edge of the lake. The plants and fauna already covered in a thick layer of snow. Hibernating until they can bloom again in the spring. Looking up, you see a layer of ice and snow hiding the freezing water beneath. Several signs surround the perimeter to deter people away stating “Don’t walk! Thin Ice! Danger!”

 

Perfect.

 

With a timid step, you place a sneakered foot on the ice closest to your form. The high pitched crackling sound reaching your ears as hairline fractures spider web out from under your foot where it applied pressure. You can’t help the small smile that reaches your lips. It was beautiful to see. Taking careful steps, you manage to make it to the center of the lake. The cracking sounds following your entire journey until you were dead center. Warning you about what’s to come if you don’t leave but there was no need. You already knew. It’s why you were here. It was as though Mother Nature was whispering “Are you sure that you want to do this?” in your ear.

 

Yes. Yes, I do.

 

Stars speckle the sky above and you gasp at the gorgeous view. For a last moment, this wasn’t so bad. Better than what millions of others experienced, that’s for sure. The weather was clear save for a brisk wind. The stars filling the night sky. A comfortable silence surrounding you and everything else nearby. This was nice. You liked this. You wanted this.

The cracking stopped and you had to bite back a groan of dismay. Ice is supposed to be weaker the closer to the center you get because that spot gets the most sunlight. Looks like nature wasn’t going to make the decision for you. You would have to make the final jump yourself.

Looking up at the night sky so that it could be the last thing imprinted on your mind, you bend your legs and launch yourself into the air. The ice shattering under your feet from the sudden shift in weight when they touch back down.

 

You fall through.

 

Piercing cold water submerges your body. Forcing the oxygen out of your lungs. Somehow it’s even colder than the wind above. You don’t struggle. Your body is limp as it descends lower and lower into the lake’s depths. Your eyes never wavering from the night sky above. Though it is now obscured by ice fragments and the slightly murky water.

Your lungs start to burn at the lack of oxygen. You can’t help gasping for air only for the cold water to make its way in, making you choke. Darkness was already starting to line your vision. It wouldn’t be much longer until you left this mortal plane.

 

This burning. This pain. All of it was temporary.

 

No more worries. No more responsibilities. No more expectations. Just beautiful nothingness or maybe… an afterlife. Some religions might have actually been right, after all.  
Opening your eyes that had been closed shut, you notice something obscuring the brilliant stars above, through the darkness that was consuming your vision. Oh well. It doesn’t matter. A numbing tiredness slowly travels up your body. Your eyes closing once again. Giving into an eternal sleep that you’ve been longing for.

 

“SANS! I’M TIRED! WHY ARE WE GOING TO THE PARK THIS LATE?!” A tall skeleton shuffled through the powdery snow behind his older shorter brother. The smaller skeleton had a long box held under one arm as he guided them to the spot he had in mind.

“don’t worry, bro. this’ll leave you starry-eyed, for sure.” Sans chuckled out. Even though he didn’t get it, Papyrus knew there was a pun in that sentence. On instinct, he let out an overly dramatic groan much to his brother’s amusement. It wasn’t like he hated puns. He just didn’t like how frequently Sans did it. Even though it had basically become their thing. Still. He didn’t turn around. He didn’t go home. Sans wasn’t one for being positive like this.

So his older brother wanted to show him something at the dead of night? Yeah, it was a bit inconvenient but he wasn’t going to rain on his brother’s parade. Sans led them to a hill near the back of the park. From its peak, you could see almost the entire place. A large forest of trees was to the left with a lake on the right. This alone was a beautiful sight but it appeared as though Sans had something else in mind.

The smaller skeleton gently set the box in the snow. Opening it to pull out a tripod, he began setting it up. Making sure it was stable before attaching a long cylindrical object to the top. Papyrus’s eye sockets grew wide. “Your telescope?” It had been years since the younger skeleton had seen it. To be honest, he thought that Sans had gotten rid of it.

“yep. never had a use for it underground but now…” Sans’s baritone cuts off as he looks up at the night sky. Thousands upon thousands of stars were scattered across it. “perfect night for it.”

Once he had the telescope set up, Sans gestured for Papyrus to take a look. The younger skeleton didn’t need to be asked twice. He bounded up and knelt down so that he could look through the eye piece. “WOWIE! THERE ARE SO MANY IN A VARIETY OF PATTERNS! IT LOOKS LIKE SOME SORT OF COMPLEX PUZZLE!”

“told ya, it would leave ya starry-eyed.” Sans snorted.

“SANS!” The taller skeleton whirled the telescope around so that he was looking at a really close up version of his brother’s face. “NO DESTROYING THE MOMENT WITH PUNS!” At that, he turned back around to look at the sky but something stopped him. “Sans…”

Picking up on the slightly more ominous tone that Papyrus had, Sans’s eye sockets narrowed. “what is it, pap?”

“There is a human on that dangerous frozen lake.” The tall skeleton was on edge and he looked up from the eye piece to see if it wasn’t a trick that Sans was pulling on him.

 

It wasn’t a trick.

 

The human stood right in the middle of the lake staring up at the sky in mysterious wonder. Just like he had moments before. Did they not read the signs? “should we go say something-” Sans cut off when the human jumped high into the air. The ice shattering from the impact.

"HUMAN!” Without thinking, Papyrus barreled down the hill at a breakneck pace. His long strides allowing him to cover a lot of ground quickly. It was just bad luck that they had been a good distance away. Papyrus didn’t know much about humans but he did know if certain monsters fell in cold water they could get hypothermia. It very well could be possible for humans to get it as well.

 

If that was true, then he didn’t have a lot of time.

 

The tall skeleton reached the edge of the lake just as his brother teleported to it. Telescope long forgotten on the top of the hill. Papyrus didn’t stop. There was no time. The human had already been under water for a good few minutes without surfacing. They could be injured or worse. He throws his scarf to Sans while kicking off his boots at the same time. With the skill of an Olympic diver, Papyrus dives into the hole that the human had made.

It was cold. Easily below zero. If it wasn’t for the fact he was a skeleton, he would be worried about it. All of his worries were for the human. Why had they done that? There was no way that they could have missed the warnings. They had jumped on purpose.

His eye sockets scanned the murky water in search of his target. He couldn’t see them. They must have sunk deeper than he originally thought. Extending his limbs, Papyrus began swimming even deeper. Soon. They came into view. Her skin was pale with a tint of blue to it. Her hair was floating out behind her in all angles. Her eyes were closed with her mouth agape.

 

She wasn’t moving.

 

Papyrus swam down and gingerly pulled the human to him with one arm. Back pedaling, the tall skeleton turned himself around and swam towards the surface, breaching the top within a few seconds. He dragged himself and the human out of the frozen lake. The dead weight of the human and his own wet clothes dragging him down.  
Sans was by his side the moment Papyrus hefted himself onto solid ground. The stout skeleton looked over the human with a grim expression on his face. “paps… we need to get her in dry clothes and somewhere warm. now. also… she isn’t breathin-” he was cut off, once again, when the human’s body convulses, coughing up ice cold water that had filled her lungs. Papyrus angled her body so that she was coughing sideways. The water falling to the ground instead of going back into her lungs. Once the airways were clear, she began breathing normally. Her body shivering uncontrollably from the cold. “nevermind. we still need to get her warm.”

Before Papyrus could ask, Sans gripped his brother’s hand and the three of them were engulfed in blue magic. As soon as it happened, it was over. The two skeletons now standing in the living room of their house instead of the edge of the frozen lake. “I’LL GET SOME BLANKETS!” Papyrus exclaimed, about to put the drenched human on the couch when his brother stops him.

“i’ll get the blankets.” The stout skeleton states while shrugging off his blue furry hoodie. “you get her out of those wet clothes and dried off. Blankets won’t help if she drenches those too.” He tosses the hoodie on the coffee table, along with Papyrus’s scarf and boots before teleporting away.

“Oh...” Papyrus gazed down at the shivering, unconscious human in his arms. He headed up to the bathroom. Moving her body so that he was carrying her with one arm, the skeleton grabs a couple of towels. He covers her body with one. “I’m sorry, human. But this must be done.” He gently tugs off her shirt and jeans, leaving the underwear. It was wet but not enough to harm anything. Thankfully, the towel kept her covered the entire time.

He fluffed her with the other towel. Rubbing her limbs briskly to stimulate her blood and to provide temporary warmth. Once done, Papyrus headed back down stairs. With precision and swiftness, he swapped out the drenched towel for his brother’s hoodie. The tall skeleton placed the human gently on the couch and wraps his scarf around her neck.

Sans pops into existence beside him. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was used to his brother popping in and out, Papyrus would have jumped. The stout skeleton draped several blankets atop the human while the younger one moved the space heater they had in front of her. The heat soon starting to fill the room. “Do you think that she will be okay, brother?” Papyrus’s voice was low as he asked. His mind was perplexed as to why someone would do something like that on purpose.

“i don’t know. all we can do now is wait.” Sans plopped himself on the floor. Looking as though he had ran a marathon before promptly falling asleep, like he was known to do.

Papyrus nudged him awake. “Your telescope.” Sans’s eye sockets widened at the realization that they left it behind. Before he could say anything more, his older brother blipped out of existence and he was left alone with the strange human.

The heater had done its job. Warmth poured out from it and the human wasn’t shivering nearly as badly as before. Papyrus closed his eye sockets as he paced around in thought. Why would a human do something like that? This wasn’t normal behavior but then again he wasn’t exactly an expert. Even if, he claimed to be. Would she be okay? Was she suffering?

Stopping in his tracks, he turns toward the human with his arm outstretched. The quickest way to make sure the human was alright was to pull out her SOUL and check her stats. Initiating the magic, Papyrus watches as the human grumbles in her sleep a bit as her SOUL slowly comes out of her chest.

Sans had told him what all the SOUL colors meant but it had been awhile before he could come up with the names of all the traits. It floated just in front of her with a light blue aura. Patience. That’s the kind of SOUL she had. It’s pulsing lit up the immediate area. But it wasn’t as bright as it should have been. The SOUL was considerably dim. Bringing up her stats, he had to hold back the anguished cry that wanted to escape his mouth at what he saw.

 

**2/7 HP**

 

This was absolutely horrible. She was so close to falling down it wasn’t even funny. If humans could fall down the same way as a monster, which wasn’t the case. Was that why she had tried to drown herself in the frozen lake? Do humans attempt to kill themselves when their HP naturally gets that low? Papyrus’s SOUL plummets as he returns the human’s to its rightful place. The human letting out a sigh as it went back into the safety of her chest.

What had happened for her HP to get that low? Whatever it was, he couldn’t let her out of his sight for now. There was a big chance that she would just try to kill herself again. As he contemplated on what to do when she wakes up, Sans made his way downstairs while wiping snow off of his skull. The smaller skeleton takes in his brother’s rigid form and stops. “paps…?”

“Brother… what is the average maximum HP of an adult human?” Papyrus knew the basics but it was Sans who understood all of this SOUL stuff.

Sans was unnerved by the low volume that his brother spoke. “well… children have an average of 20 to start out with and pending on their outlook on life as an adult it can be anywhere from 40 or higher. it all depends if they gained any LV or their mindset on life. why?” The stout skeleton did not like how Papyrus’s expression dropped even further as he spoke.

“This human… her HP is dangerously low with two out of a maximum of seven…” Sans’s brow bones shot up as his brother spoke. The taller skeleton continued to eye the human. “What… What do we do?”

This was something that Sans wasn’t used too. Papyrus normally always had a plan, whether it worked out in his favor or not. He looked at the human as well. She was curled up in the blankets and looked about as peaceful as one could get. “we’ll have to keep an eye on her until she wakes up. we can sleep in shifts.” Sans moved so that he was sitting on his beanbag chair in the corner. “i’ll take the first one so why don’t you go conk out for a couple hours?”

“NONSEN…” Papyrus began to exclaim in his normally boisterous voice but managed to catch himself. “Nonsense. You’ll probably fall asleep and forget to wake me up. I’ll just keep an eye on her all night.”

“you sure?” the stout skeleton eyed his brother with a bit of a smirk. Glad to see that his younger brother had bounced back to his old self.

“I’m completely sure!” the taller skeleton gave Sans a reassuring smile. “Though I will probably give Toriel a call in a minute. We may need her help once the human awakens.”

“it wouldn’t hurt. alright then. night, paps.” Sans closed his eye sockets and was out like a light. Leaving his brother to watch the human while he tried to figure out as to why they had tried to end it all.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't have time to make a picture for this and thus it will be updated with it later.

It was warm. No… It was hot. Really hot. Why was it hot? 

Willing your heavy limbs to move, you struggled under several layers of fabric before finally shoving the entire pile off and it landed somewhere with a muffled ‘flump’. Grumbling to yourself, you mentally balked at the dryness of your throat and mouth. The taste was even worse. It was like you hadn’t brushed your teeth in days. Not only that but you just felt like shit, in general. 

Moving so that you were sitting upright, you brought your hands to your eyes to claw off the crusties that had your eyes glued completely shut. What the hell happened? Why did you feel like you tried to run a marathon with a fever? 

Blinking at the bleariness that consumed your vision, the room soon came into focus and you froze where you sat. Frantically, your eyes darted about taking everything in. Nice, not crumbling walls, tasteful decorations (though the bone theme was a little odd), a huge pirate flag hanging on the wall opposite you, and action figures. LOTS of action figures. This wasn’t your room. Where the hell were you? Why were you here? What was going on?

Curling into a small ball, you huddled under one of the few blankets that had remained on the bed (which you now noticed was designed to look like a red race car). Think. There had to be an explanation as to why you were here. What had happened before you blacked out?

Your mind scrambled until it all finally clicked. A cold numbing feeling swept across your body. That’s right… Everything had finally come to a head and even now you still felt that empty feeling of worthlessness. After making up your mind, you had walked to the park and broke through the ice of the lake. Straightening up a bit, you looked around the room again. If someone had found you, they would have brought you to a hospital. That would be the logical thing to do. So… you succeeded? Was this… Heaven? Hell? Limbo? Why were you able to feel things if you were no longer in your body?

As you attempted to get out of bed, the entire room spun causing you to fall back. The beds headboard banging loudly against the wall from the force. The sound making your ears ring. God, you felt awful. Rolling onto your side so that you were facing the wall, you held your aching head gingerly in your hands. If it wasn’t for the fact you weren’t sure if you were alive or not, you would think that you were just really sick.

“OH MY! HUMAN, ARE YOU AWAKE?”

A terrified shriek tore from your scratchy dry throat as you jumped so hard your entire body winced in pain. Your head aching so bad you hadn’t heard anyone open the door and come in. You whipped around as quickly as you could (which took longer than you liked) to see who it was. Your eyes going wide as the blood drained from your face.

Yep.

You were dead.

There was no doubt about it now.

In front of you was a really tall skeleton. A skeleton. It wore a T-shirt with an apron over it with long black jeans. It’s brow bones were lowered but you weren’t sure if it was concerned or some other emotion. Regardless, it had called you human. So it wasn’t the same species as you. Did that make it a demon? Were you in hell? Was this some sort of waiting room before they drag you to wherever in the afterlife you belong?

Something waving in front of your face had your eyes refocusing on the skeleton. You scooted until your back hit the wall behind you in an attempt to put some space between you and the creature. Your reaction appearing to sadden the skeleton but you really didn’t care right now.

It took the hint and backed away from you a few steps with both hands up in a peaceful gesture. “I’M SORRY, HUMAN! I DID NOT MEAN TO FRIGHTEN YOU. HOW ARE YOU FEELING?” Like death himself. You hadn’t realized you had said that out loud until the skeleton cocked its skull at you curiously. “WHO IS THIS DEATH PERSON…? IS HE WHY YOUR HP IS SO LOW?”

HP? What the hell was HP? Health Points? Hell Points?? You settled on giving the skeleton a confused look before summoning up the courage to speak. “Is thi-” you began to say when a coughing fit shook your entire frame. Each cough sending a wave of pain shooting down your parched throat and aching head.

“IT’S A GOOD THING I CAME PREPARED!” you watched the skeleton out of the corner of your eye as it walked over to a table that held several action figures and grab a glass of water that was sitting on it. The skeleton then headed over to you. Using the full length of his arm so that he could respect your space. Which you found a little odd. If it was a demon, then why should it care how you felt? “YOU MUST BE THIRSTY AFTER BEING OUT FOR SO LONG.”

The aching in your head picked up at the skeleton’s loud tone but you managed to hide the wince. What did that mean? You eyed the glass suspiciously for a moment before slowly taking it. Making sure not to accidentally spill it on yourself. Not even bothering to consider if it was poisoned, you take a sip before chugging the glass greedily. The liquid making your throat feel a little bit better. It wasn’t enough though. You were just glad that your tongue didn’t feel like sand paper anymore.

The skeleton was smiling at you now and you turned your attention to the empty glass in your hands. Not entirely sure what to do. This was all really really weird. If this was the afterlife why were you feeling this bad? Why was there water? So many questions burned in your mind but one stood out among the others. The one you had tried to ask before the coughing fit. “Is this hell?”

“only if you consider us _hell_ ping you hell.”

You barely stopped your eyes from bugging out as a smaller skeleton walked through the door. The stout skeleton’s body was completely relaxed while wearing a white shirt and black shorts. On it’s feet there were… fuzzy pink slippers?

It headed over to the other one with a huge grin stretched across his skull. The tall one barely containing the groan that it wanted to elicit. “SANS… NOW ISN’T THE TIME FOR THAT.”

“i see… why don’t you give me a _demon_ -stration on how its done?” the stout skeleton’s grin grew at the reaction it received from the taller one but as its gaze traveled back over to your aching form, you backed up even further until you were now in the corner of the bed.

“NOW SHE IS EVEN MORE SCARED THAN SHE WAS BEFORE!” the tall one gave the small one a chastising look before turning it’s attention back to you. Much to your dismay. “WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT THIS IS HELL?”

So… it wasn’t? Was this Limbo or Heaven then? “I don’t know. Just waking up in a really warm place, then greeted by two skeletons…?” You gestured to the two of them like it was obvious why you thought that way but judging from the looks on their faces they didn’t get it.

The stout skeleton, Sans, rubbed it’s chin for a moment before turning to the tall one looking more than amused. “paps, i’m getting the feeling that she thinks she’s dead.”

“THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE… SKELETONS ARE USED AS A SYMBOL OF DEATH IN HUMAN CULTURE.” the tall skeleton cracked into an even bigger grin than it had on before. “WORRY NOT HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, PULLED YOU OUT OF THE LAKE LAST NIGHT WITH SOME HELP FROM MY BROTHER, SANS.” It posed in a valiant way then gestured to the shorter one who waved back at you in a lazy fashion.

“So… I’m not dead…?” you stared at the skeleton brothers in disbelief.

“YOU ARE VERY MUCH ALIVE.”

It took a moment for his words to sink in and when they did the small amount of hope that you had been feeling seemed to shatter into a thousand pieces. Monsters. They were monsters, not demons. It’s only been a few months after they had walked out from Mt. Ebott but you hadn’t really paid them any attention. Its not that you didn’t like them, its just that you didn’t care. You lowered your head so that your hair covered most of your face as you eyed the glass in your hands.

This couldn’t be happening. You had been entirely alone last night. How did you not notice two skeletons in the park? Even though their bones are white, they would have stood out like a sore thumb. You let out a bitter laugh and clenched the glass tightly in your hands as the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness and worthlessness came back ten fold. Not only could you not do life right but you couldn’t even off yourself properly. Just how worthless can you get that you couldn’t kill yourself right?

Your bitter laughter morphed into quiet sobs. This was bad. Your life had been complex before but now that you were still alive after a suicide attempt it was about to get even more complicated. Doctors, therapists, those stupid fucking help groups… Not only that but you also had to deal with all the stuff you had failed to do while you had been out. Papyrus had stated that you had been asleep for a while and your body more than provided proof of that. You probably lost your job for not showing up to work. Meaning you would have to go out and pray you could find another one.

Why couldn’t have things gone your way just this once?

“STOP THOSE THOUGHTS YOU ARE HAVING THIS INSTANT.” Papyrus’s loud voice carried over yours thoughts. It sounded scared and you glanced up to look at him from under your hair to see a pale blue heart floating in front of your chest. You glanced at it for a moment before lifting your head so that you can look at the two skeletons properly.

Both had the same kind of expression. Worried. Scared. They looked as though you were going to keel over right then and there. Looking back down at the heart you noticed, that when you did, information seemed to be broadcast into your mind. Information that you chose to ignore for the most part but one thing seemed to want to make itself known to you.

**HP 1/4**

“What is that?” your voice croaked out as you continued to look at the pale heart with dead eyes. They mirrored the feeling that was slowly creeping up inside you.

“that’s your soul, kid.” the deep voice of Sans spoke up as the three of you watched as the maximum HP dropped from four to three.

“PLEASE STOP!” the glass you held fell out of your hands as the tall skeleton decided to stop giving you your space and pulled you into a strong but gentle hug that enveloped your entire body.

You didn’t know what you were doing that was making them upset but once again you didn’t care. You didn’t care about anything. You just wanted to close your eyes and be done with it all. 

Hanging limply in the big skeleton’s arms, you looked at him with no expression on your face. “Why…?” with that one word out, other questions followed suit. “Why should I stop? Why did you save me? Why didn’t you just leave me to die like most humans would? Why? WHY?”

To his merit, Papyrus didn’t flinch at your words as they slowly grew in volume despite your protesting throat. He continued to hold you close. “WELL, FIRST OFF WE ARE MONSTERS NOT HUMANS. SECONDLY, WHY NOT?”

“You should have left me to die.” A feeling of frustration was starting to prickle up in the back of your mind. Why didn’t he get that you just wanted to leave this world? “Why do you even care? I’m, literally, a stranger that you pulled out of a frozen lake and brought home. You don’t know me. I could be an axe murderer and kill you the moment you let your guard down.” Not that you would actually try to hurt either of these skeletons but the point was still valid.

“nah, you don’t have the soul for it.” Sans spoke up from behind Papyrus but you did manage to catch the moment where his eye sockets were completely void of light for a second before returning to normal. It would have been intimidating if it wasn’t for the fact that you were pretty much numb to everything at this point.

Instead, you just stared at him as the taller brother still held you. Unsure of what Sans meant. “BECAUSE IT DOESN’T MATTER THAT WE ARE STRANGERS. I BELIEVE THAT THERE IS GOOD WITHIN EVERYONE AND THAT INCLUDES YOU.” Papyrus pulled back and you saw bright orange tears prickling at the edges of his eye sockets. “I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAS HAPPENED FOR YOU TO LOSE SO MUCH HOPE IN THIS WORLD. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO TELL ME IF YOU DON’T WANT TO EITHER. BUT NO ONE SHOULD FEEL THIS WAY EVEN A LITTLE BIT. SO WORRY NOT, HUMAN. FOR I, THE GREAT AND CARING PAPYRUS, WILL HELP YOU ONTO A PATH THAT IS MUCH MORE DESERVING FOR SOMEONE AS COOL AS YOU!”

You had to blink a couple of times at his words. If this had been another human, you would have chalked up those words as something that they were obliged to say. That’s what humans did. Some were genuine but most times they repeated encouraging words to those who were hurting without truly meaning them. Like they were reading a script. But those words hadn’t come from a human and the look on Papyrus’s face backed up what he had said. He meant every single word that had came out of his mouth and he was confident enough to show it.

Your mind went blank, unable to process what exactly just happened. Not wanting to talk anymore and it was obvious that you weren’t going to win this battle of wills with you being so sick, you just slumped into his arms accepting your fate for the moment. A shuffling sound was heard and you groggily looked up to see the small skeleton heading for the bedroom door. “i’m gonna head downstairs and get the human some medicine and something to eat since she’s up. gotta be starving after bein asleep for 3 days. can i trust you to keep an eye on ‘er pap?”

“OF COURSE, YOU CAN! I SHOULD BE SAYING THAT TO YOU!” Papyrus pointed an accusatory finger at his brother earning himself a deep chuckle.

“be back in a bit.” With that said, Sans stepped out of the room while closing the door silently behind him.

Silence descended upon the room and you squirmed against the skeleton monster uncomfortably. Its not that his hug was uncomfortable it was the fact that he has been holding you for so long. “Pa… Papyrus…? Mind letting me go?”

“GLADLY. ON ONE CONDITION.”

You didn’t like where this was going but you didn’t have the energy to argue it. “…What’s that?”

“YOU MUST PROMISE TO NOT LET YOUR HP DROP ANY LOWER!”

It was then that you realized that your SOUL was still out. Now squished up against your chest from being hugged by the skeleton. You looked at it for a moment before letting out an exhausted sigh. “Kind of hard to promise something when you don’t know what it is or why it dropped in the first place.”

“HP STANDS FOR HOPE. PLEASE TRY TO HAVE MORE OF IT. THINK ABOUT HAPPIER THINGS. I AM SCARED AS TO WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN TO YOUR BODY IF IT GOES DOWN ANYMORE.” The skeleton held you so that you were forced to look him in the eye sockets.

Be happier? Seriously? “Is that why it looks so pale?” you asked trying to divert from having to make a promise to the overly nice skeleton.

“PATIENCE SOULS ARE OFTEN PALER THAN THE OTHERS BUT THEY ARE OFTEN A MUCH MORE VIBRANT BLUE. SO YES. THAT IS WHY YOURS IS SO DULL BUT YOU DIDN’T ANSWER ME.” He humored you but you let out a groan at the fact that he wasn’t distracted as easily as his persona hints at.

“Papyrus, I don’t think I can guarantee that.” And you couldn’t. The moment he is out of the room and not distracting you from the dark thoughts that were currently on the edges of your mind, you won’t be able to control them from taking over and if that lowered your HP then oh well.

The skeleton seemed to take your words to heart as his brow bones scrunched together in thought. “I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT.”

“I doubt I can…”

“THEN DO WHAT I WOULD DO!”

“...What’s that?”

“BELIEVE IN ME! BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN YOU!” the grin that he flashed you as he said those words was too sweet. Too nice! “INSTEAD OF PROMISING THE HP DROP, HOW ABOUT YOU PROMISE TO BELIEVE IN ME?”

That was something you could do. Even though you didn’t particularly want too. If it would get the skeleton off your back and release you from the hug, then you could make that simple promise. “Fine. I promise.”

The moment you said the words, Papyrus gently released you and turned over to the bookshelf that was standing next to the large pirate flag on the wall. “I KNOW THAT WHENEVER I AM SICK SANS WILL READ ME STORIES TO HELP ME FEEL BETTER. WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO READ YOU ONE?”

You doubted that the skeleton would actually leave if you said that you wanted to be alone. You were a risk factor to yourself right now and if you could probably find a way to kill yourself in here if you wanted to. Not that you would have the heart to do it in a spot where this guy would find you. He seemed to truly care and if this was his room… You didn’t want to think about the psychological damage that would do to the monster. So you let out a heavy sigh and got comfortable on the bed. “Sure… that sounds good to me.” You would just have to wait it out for the moment.

“I HAVE THE PERFECT STORY TO TELL YOU! THE ENDING ALWAYS GETS ME.” The skeleton grabbed a thin very used book off the shelf and moved so that he was sitting on the floor in front of the bed. It looked like he was holding a childrens book but who were you to judge? Even as adults, people have books like that they still love. “ONCE UPON A TIME, THERE WAS AN ADORABLE FLUFFY BUNNY…”

Yeah, you’d wait it out for now.


	4. Leave Out All The Rest

_“Baby? What are you doing?”_

_“Is that what I think it is?”_

_“Darling, No. STOP!”_

_“EAAAAAAAAH!”_

Familiar voices filled your ears as your mother’s scream tore away the silence that you had been previously drifting under. The comfortable quiet darkness that you had been begging to consume you had refused. Gone. Again. Taken away by the depths of your own mind as you were forced to relive the last living moments of your parents. Nightmares that used to haunt you to no end, now just moving images that you have memorized by heart.

There was only one explanation as to why you were witnessing these again. You had fallen asleep. Somehow the rather adorable adventures of fluffy bunny done in the voice of an overly excited skeleton had lulled you to sleep. Though to be fair, once the medicine that Sans had given you kicked in, it probably did most of the work. Even though you knew you were in dreamland, it didn’t make leaving it any easier. The images changed to more recent ones and the dread you were feeling grew. Waking up now would be great. You didn’t want to have to think about what just happened.

The familiar feeling of cold settled on your body and you trembled at what was about to come. It had been a pretty tranquil way to kill yourself but it was bad enough that you were tormented by suicidal thoughts while awake. Dreams were supposed to be an escape. Not an awful reminder of your personal failures. Why couldn’t you sleep like a normal person instead of being dragged through your own personal hell?

After what felt like years of watching everything wrong with your life, the pull that sleep had over you was finally weakening. Your body felt extremely heavy as you slowly came out of the dark slumber only to be greeted with the semi-familiar bedroom of Papyrus. Said skeleton currently had your lower half trapped to the bed as he was sprawled out across the top with the rest of him on the floor. Soft snores filling the room when otherwise there would be silence. You watched the peaceful slumbering monster.

Just what was his deal? Why was he trying so hard to help you? YOU! A person who is nothing more than wasted space. A person with no real achievements, goals, or ambitions. A person who is more of an NPC in a game than a living being with an opinion. Why? Why did he care so much?!

You froze as you felt the skeleton shift in his sleep. This guy… was rather touchy feely wasn’t he? After all, his first instinct had been to hug you. Now he was sleeping on top of you. That… sounded a lot more perverted than what was actually going on. You doubted this guy ever had a thought like that in his entire life. He was far to innocent. The skeleton continued to move and frantically your mind scrambled. You weren’t ready to deal with him yet. But the moment he knew you were awake, he would probably be all over you. Think of something… fast!

He turned in his sleep. The peaceful look morphing into one of concern with a hint of fear. “Please… don’t go.” His normally loud voice was now just above a whisper. What was making your heart ache was the fact that his voice shook. Terribly. What was this skeleton even dreaming about to cause this type of reaction? You felt him gently grip your foot when you moved it slightly. “Please… _stay_.” Wait… was he… was he dreaming about you?!

Now that you thought about it, it made sense. You were probably the most terrifying thing to happen to him as of late. Not many people witness a person WILLINGLY jump into a frozen lake in an attempt to kill themselves. Did monsters ever try to commit suicide? Was it a common thing for their species as well or not? Regardless, your initial impression definitely left an impact. Probably more for the worse than the better. Why was it that you found help in one of the most unorthodox places? You hadn’t even wanted help to begin with. He kind of… just took it upon himself to save you and make sure that you were okay. He doesn’t even know anything about you.

Yet…

He still tried-no. Trying. He was still trying. Unlike anyone else in your life, he was trying and he didn’t even have the benefit of knowing you first. Yet, that didn’t matter to him. He just wanted to make sure you were alright… this… was so surreal. A walking death symbol wanted to make sure you were alive!

A bitter laugh escaped you only to come out as a rather hoarse cough. That was completely ironic wasn’t it? Though to be honest, you couldn’t help but feel a little bad. Eventually, he was going to give up on you or you were going to do something and then he will find out about your death. That you no longer exist. When he did, you got the feeling that he would blame himself and probably beat himself up on the inside a lot more than anyone would ever notice. He was the only one to see any of the good in you in a very long time. He didn’t deserve that future but it was going to happen. You just knew. This didn’t help any of the bad feelings go away. Maybe even then he would still see you in a good light.

However, your cough seemed to make the skeleton stir even more and you were brought back to your earlier predicament. How to lull the monster back to sleep? What could you possibly do to make him fall back to dreamland?

Hot milk? No, he kind of has you trapped. Not to mention the other skeleton probably wouldn’t like you wandering their house blindly anyway. Read a story? You couldn’t think of any off the top of your head and plus those worked better when someone was more awake. So that left… singing? The soothing tone of someone singing can sometimes make the lightest sleeper crash. You just needed something mellow to create a soothing melody. That could work. It didn’t take you long to figure out what you were going to attempt to sing. The lyrics leaving your lips as you played the tune in your head.

_“I dreamed I was missing_  
You were so scared  
But no one would listen  
'Cause no one else cared” 

The lyrics fell from your scratchy throat without hesitation and you didn’t care if you sounded horrible because of it. Your voice was just loud enough to be heard but not loud enough to disturb. It was soft. The skeleton stilled his movements as you continued to sing the song.

_“After my dreaming_  
I woke with this fear  
What am I leaving  
When I'm done here? 

_So if you're asking me  
I want you to know”_

What were you leaving behind? An empty dilapidated house, spotty work history, and a lifetime of bad family and relationships. Nothing notable will be left. It’ll be as though you never existed at all… What was worse was that didn’t seem to bother you as much as it should. Despite the really weird past few hours, you still felt… numb.

_“When my time comes_  
Forget the wrong that I've done  
Help me leave behind some  
Reasons to be missed  
And don't resent me  
And when you're feeling empty  
Keep me in your memory  
Leave out all the rest  
Leave out all the rest” 

Wrongs were an understatement. You haven’t been the best person to others in your life. Then again, you haven’t been the worst either but you did have lots and lots of bad moments. More so than the average person and with the way that humanity is, any good you did would definitely be outranked by all of the bad because that is what everyone thinks about first. Good is always negated by the bad, even if it was small. It would be great if the people who would remember you could just remember the good and leave out all the rest. Then you may actually be leaving something behind. Maybe… you could ask the skeleton for help in that regard. It would certainly be better than what you currently have. Then again, anything is better than you currently have. Maybe it could help with your “numb” situation. But… do you even want to leave anything behind? Maybe it would be better if you just faded out of history. It happened to hundreds of people each day. The dark feeling that was sitting idly within you reared it’s head. Yeah, it would probably be better to just fade out.

_“Don't be afraid_  
I've taken my beating  
I've shared what I've made  
I'm strong on the surface  
Not all the way through  
I've never been perfect  
But neither have you 

_So if you're asking me  
I want you to know”_

On any other day, this song would have had you in tears already. It was as though Chester Bennington had put your life into an elegant melody of words and it had helped to know that someone understood you. He may have not known that you existed but he understood. It was weird how certain musical artists could make such a deep connection with their listeners without even meeting them. Everyone had that one artist that they followed without fail. At least one. You fought off another coughing fit and once your throat had stabilized you continued on to the chorus.

_“When my time comes_  
Forget the wrong that I've done  
Help me leave behind some  
Reasons to be missed  
Don't resent me  
And when you're feeling empty  
Keep me in your memory  
Leave out all the rest  
Leave out all the rest 

_Forgetting all the hurt inside_  
You've learned to hide so well  
Pretending someone else can come  
And save me from myself  
I can't be who you are” 

You watched the skeleton sprawled across your lap as you sang the last few lines. That’s what he was trying to do. He was trying to save you from yourself because you were a danger to yourself. But… you couldn’t understand it. Why? Why was he trying in the first place? He could have easily left you in the lake and no one would have been the wiser. Now not only has he put himself on the line but all of monster kind as well. Monsters haven’t been above ground that long and tensions were still rather high between the two races. So you understood why they hadn’t brought you immediately to a hospital. Two skeleton monsters carrying an unconscious human girl into a human run medical facility with little to no explanation as to why she got that way would not look good at all. Though taking her home without her knowledge probably wouldn’t look that good either. Not that you were going to throw the two of them under the bus or anything. It wasn’t like Papyrus had bad intentions when he had pulled you out of the lake. It was just… inconvenient. You may have done bad things but you weren’t completely heartless.

_“When my time comes_  
Forget the wrong that I've done  
Help me leave behind some  
Reasons to be missed  
Don't resent me  
And when you're feeling empty  
Keep me in your memory  
Leave out all the rest  
Leave out all the rest 

_Forgetting all the hurt inside_  
You've learned to hide so well  
Pretending someone else can come  
And save me from myself  
I can't be who you are  
I can't be who you are” 

The skeleton had stilled back into a deep sleep and you let out a sigh of relief. You had some more time to prepare yourself for the overly exuberant monster when he wakes up later. Though he has been surprisingly considerate of your currently fragile condition. Other than essentially trapping your legs under him, he has let you rest and recuperate. So you settled yourself in and looked back up at the ceiling with little interest. Your eyes making shapes in the textured paint of the popcorn ceiling.

“that uh… was rather depressing to hear.”

Slowly, you rolled your head towards the direction of the deep baritone voice of the other skeleton brother. He stood a little ways back towards the opposite wall with one hand in his jacket pocket and the other holding a tray. He took a couple steps forward to place the tray on the nightstand next to your head. His steps muffled by the worn pink slippers on his feet. “though i gotta hand it to you. it was really sweet of you to sing him back to sleep like that.”

“I’m surprised I didn’t wake him up, actually.” You croaked out just above a whisper, then gestured to your scratchy throat to emphasize your point. The shorter skeleton was now preparing something on the tray and you watched him with little interest. “I don’t even know why I sang to completion when I felt him settle about halfway through.”

Sans shrugged. “sometimes you just gotta finish things and a good song is one of them. here.” He turns back to you with a glass of water in one hand and some more flu medicine in the other. “this usually helps frisk when they are to sick to really eat anything.”

You eyed the objects in his hands before taking the medicine and popping the pills into your mouth with a quick gulp of water to chase them down your throat. Only to chug the entire glass of water to sate your parched throat, even if it was for a small while. It wouldn’t last long. You were severely dehydrated despite the fact you tried to drown yourself in a lake. Sans quirked an eyebrow at you and you did the same to him. “What?”

“you are being awfully compliant.” His eye sockets narrowed in suspicion to which you shrugged absently at.

“Why wouldn’t I be? Because I’m numb? Because you are afraid that I’ll off myself or fight you because I want to die?” You watched his features darken with worry as you spoke so easily about the fact that you just tried to kill yourself. “Look. I may be a danger to myself but a slow death isn’t exactly what I’m going for and besides… with the way things are between our races, a dead girl popping up in the house of two skeleton monsters would pretty much guarantee another war right now. I may be a horrible person but I am not that much of a bitch.” With that you were kind of done talking. Your throat was hurting because of that monologue and, frankly, you kind of wanted to go back to sleep. So you ignored the other skeleton monster and closed your eyes. Allowing the darkness of sleep to take you once again.

 

“well. that is rather shocking.” Sans said as he picked up the tray after watching the human for a good few minutes. She did get a few hours of sleep thanks to the medicine though he could tell that she was completely exhausted and it didn’t need to be proven by the fact that she was out a couple minutes after closing her eyes. “you gonna get up and help me make breakfast or are you gonna keep pretendin’ to be asleep, pap?”

Papyrus involuntarily jerked from his sprawled out position before slowly sitting up and narrowing his eye sockets at the smaller brother. Sometimes he wondered how Sans could be so observant. “I’ll… I’ll be down in a minute, Sans.” His older brother shrugged before teleporting out of the room with the tray. Lazybones… why did he have to do that when he had a pair of perfectly good legs? And the sleeping human wasn’t a good excuse either. She was out. There was no way that the door opening and closing would have woken her up. Speaking of… He glanced back at the human wrapped up in his blankets. Her face peaceful in her sleep unlike when she had woken up the first time. The lack of emotions and reactions… Right now, it was safe to say that she may even be happy. But. She had already shown him a small ray of hope. 

The human hadn’t wanted to get him or his brother in trouble by attempting to fight back and not take any medicine. She wasn’t trying to actively kill herself in their presence. He may not have known her long but he already knew the plan she had in her head. She was going to get physically well enough so that she didn’t have to depend on them anymore then leave. When once she left, all bets were off. It would be only a matter of time until he saw her name and face in the obituaries section of the newspaper. Yet, she gave some vital information away.

She cared.

She cared about them even if she had said it in a way that made it sound like she didn’t. It wasn’t the best thing but it was a start. He had to be careful though. If she decided she didn’t care then he wouldn’t be surprised if she disappeared or would begin to fight back against their hospitality.

Raising a hand, he readjusted the blanket on her small form. It was awful to see. This person.. so broken, so lost, and so willing to accept that she didn’t want to live anymore. What had happened to make her feel this way? Why did she feel the need to kill herself? It completely perplexed him. He wanted to understand. He wanted to help and he was going to try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is something that I have been putting off for a little while. As most of you probably know, Chester Bennington (lead singer of the band Linkin Park) passed away. He was one of the biggest inspirations of my childhood and I can remember sitting on the bus listening to their CDs on repeat. To say that I'm sad that this happened is an understatement and I have been trying to find a way to do my own kind of memorial for him since.
> 
> Miss ya, Chester v.v


	5. Loss

“paps. i really don’t think that this is a good idea. she should probably still be eating something light.” the small skeleton pulled the plate of spaghetti away from you as you sat between the brothers at a tiny kitchen table. Content to watch the two of the bicker about your predicament like always. It was just easier to deal with them that way. Also if it wasn’t for the fact that the numbness was still very present within your body, you would even say that their interactions were kind of cute. It was obvious that the two got along rather well.

The taller skeleton scoffed. “NONSENSE, SANS! HER FEVER BROKE ABOUT A WEEK AGO AND SHE MANAGED TO EAT SOME OF THE FOOD YOU BROUGHT HOME FROM GRILLBY’S JUST FINE. IF SHE CAN KEEP SOMETING FROM THAT GREASE TRAP DOWN THEN A GOOD WHOLESOME MEAL OF SPAGHETTI SHOULD BE JUST FINE.” Said spaghetti plate was pulled back into it’s original position in front of you. A plate of perfectly normal monster spaghetti. It did smell rather good though.

“she’s only better because toriel stopped by and helped her with some healing magic. there is a distinct possibility that she could get sick again.” This time the plate was dragged away with a slight blue aura around it that you had learned was a sign of Sans’s magic. He had used it a couple of times in your presence and was surprised that you didn’t really react. Then again, you didn’t really react much to anything right now. What was the point?

Yet, he was right.

When Toriel visited, you had been asleep again because of how weak your body was getting. By the time you woke up, their friend had already left and your fever was practically nonexistent. Your body wasn’t as achy as it had been either. Even some old scars you’ve had for years had almost disappeared on your skin. It was the most refreshed and energetic you have felt for years… for about a day. Then whatever was going on with you seemed to catch up and you were numb again. Life seemed to be draining something very important from you at a pretty consistent rate. You were thinking that the thing that Papyrus told you about the other day was it. HP or… hope? You were losing hope in life? Oh well, the only bonus after the visit is that you didn’t completely feel like death anymore because the fever was gone. Still, you have never experienced monster magic so you don’t know how it would effect you. Everyone was different. There was a chance that your health could decline again but this time it wouldn’t be caused by the fact you jumped into a frozen lake.

The spaghetti plate was now in front of you again and you were kind of just done with the two of them bickering. Not only that, you were a little hungry. So just as Sans lifted the dish with his magic, you snatched it out of the air with one hand and dove your fork into the pasta with the other. Wordlessly, you took a bite while dragging the plate back to the table against Sans’s magic. Which was actually a struggle. For some reason, the small skeleton really didn’t want you eating this pasta.

There was a tense pause as both skeleton monsters watched you eat the bite in silence. Papyrus had a look of pure excitement whereas Sans looked more concerned than he should be. You kept your gaze even with them as you chewed slowly a couple of times and swallowed. A look of pure amazement flew across the smaller brother’s face while the taller straightened up, completely satisfied with the outcome.

“so… how is it…?” Sans was still looking at you with amazement and you gave him a shrug in response. To be honest, you have had better spaghetti but at the same time you have eaten a lot of significantly worse things. This flavor didn’t even come close to those culinary abominations. So you took another bite and just continued to eat with Sans watching you as if you were some sort of enigma. If Papyrus noticed his brother’s reaction to his cooking then he was an amazing actor for not showing anything in response.

“WELL! NOW THAT THAT IS SETTLED, I THINK THAT WE SHOULD STOP BY THE HUMAN’S HOUSE.” The tall skeleton headed back over to the counter to put the noodles and sauce into new containers. 

Sans broke out of his trance and finally stopped staring at you to look at his brother. “i’m sorry, what?”

“WE SHOULD TAKE THE HUMAN TO HER HOUSE. I DOUBT THAT SHE ENJOYS WEARING OUR CLOTHES, SANS. EVEN THOUGH THEY DO LOOK VERY NICE ON HER, I BET SHE WOULD APPRECIATE WEARING SOMETHING THAT FIT BETTER.” Papyrus sounded like a mother chastising a child over something that should have been fairly obvious. You looked at the baggy sweatpants that you were borrowing from Sans and the rather long sleeved flannel that Papyrus had let you sleep in. Both were extremely comfortable but the only outfit you had was the one they had found you in. Meaning you’ve been using the same bra and underwear for the past couple weeks. They have been washed but the idea that they were your only pair did make you feel rather dirty despite that. You wouldn’t be adverse going back to your place for some fresh clothes. Maybe grab your phone and wallet… The rest could go to hell for all you cared.

You just hoped that it was empty. There was a lot of reasons why you feel the way you do and certain people practically living at your place without giving you any say in the matter was one of them. It seemed a little counter intuitive if you wanted to get out of the skeleton brothers’ house sooner but you doubted that they were going to leave you there. You really didn’t want to deal with them or the aftermath of your suicide attempt so soon.

“uh… as _fitting_ as that sounds… don’t you think we should hold off for a bit? i mean her HP is still only at a maximum of 4. the maximum hasn’t decreased but-”

“SANS, WE AREN’T GOING TO LEAVE HER THERE.” Papyrus cut his brother off with ease as he finished up putting the extra food away. Only to walk over to take your empty plate and dishes over to the sink. Called it. “I COMPLETELY AGREE THAT SHE STILL NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AFTER BUT A SMALL VISIT SHOULDN’T HURT.”

The two skeletons stared down at each other and you were kind of waiting for a tumbleweed to blow by behind them. You knew that they weren’t going to leave you there. It wasn’t even an option. They knew that you were still a danger to yourself and you highly doubted that you were going to be getting out of their care anytime soon. Though legally they couldn’t keep you at their house if you wanted to leave. Which you did. You just didn’t want to have them worrying about you when you left. Eventually, Sans’s tense stature relaxes into his usual slouch as he lets out a heavy sigh. “okay, that sounds fair. do you want to go today?”

“AS SOON AS THE HUMAN IS READY. ACTUALLY! BEFORE I FORGET,” Papyrus’s grin was turned your way and you unconsciously sat a little straighter in your seat. “I DON’T THINK WE EVER GOT YOUR NAME.”

You blinked in surprise at his words. Your name? Now that you thought about it, most of the time you have been staying here consisted of you either sleeping or zoning out while Papyrus told stories. Sometimes it was about his day or about something that happened in the underground. Regardless, he was always talking to you. It was kind of nice, even though you didn’t respond that much. You almost smiled at the bizarre situation that you found yourself in. It was just uncanny. Two skeleton monsters taking you in and helping you after a suicide attempt. All without knowing anything about you. Even your name. How could such pure beings exist in this world? “My name is (y/n).”

Papyrus’s face broke out into a huge grin. “IT IS NICE TO OFFICIALLY MEET YOU, (Y/N)!”

“Well… guess I’ll go get ready.” You said while standing up to change into your clothes. Other than that, there wasn’t anything you needed to do to get ready. It was just your house. Your shitty awful house that you rather would not go back too. This was going to be a quick visit. It didn’t take long for you to switch into your old outfit. The only difference now was that it was clean and not smelling like you tried to drown yourself. You gave Papyrus’s room one last cursory glance before heading downstairs to meet up with the skeletons. Sans wasn’t down there but Papyrus was.

There was a moment that the classic grin wasn’t on the tall monster’s face. A moment where it was a look of deep contemplation instead his usual radiating happiness and joy. Yet, it was quickly replaced when he heard your footsteps on the stairs. His smile was back and it made you wonder what he was thinking moments before. “THERE YOU ARE. SHALL WE GET GOING?”

You nodded your head and followed the monster out of the house for the first time in two weeks. Sliding on the coat he offered you at the entrance with no resistance. It was still freezing out after all. However, your steps promptly stopped at the car that was parked in the monster’s driveway. It was a red convertible with the top up and Sans lounging in the back. It looked brand new despite the fact it was the middle of winter. Papyrus obviously took really good care of the car.

_There was no way they could take this to your part of town. The poor thing would be stolen within minutes._

“IT IS A BEAUTY, IS IT NOT? I ALWAYS DREAMED OF DRIVING WITH THE WIND IN MY HAIR ON THE SURFACE AND NOW I CAN DO JUST THAT!” Papyrus dashed ahead after locking the door and jumped into the driver’s seat. “C’MON, (Y/N)! ALLOW THE GREAT PAPYRUS TO SHOW YOU WHAT THIS BABY CAN DO!”

You stared at the skeleton brothers in silence. They both looked so relaxed. So happy. They both really cared about you. Papyrus especially. All you felt was the cold weather kissing your skin and the numbness that seemed to be consuming your body as the days went on. Leaving you uncaring and not wanting to even move most days. Yet, here you were. Preparing to go back to your godforsaken house even though you would rather just disappear from the earth. How? How could this skeleton get you to agree to his demands so easily? He wasn’t even forcing you to do anything. Everything he asked was a simple suggestion. He left it all up for you to decide. Just what was with this?

Shaking your head, you moved your body into the passenger seat. Being extra careful with the way you closed the convertible door. Papyrus pulled out of the driveway and you were off. The car ride was mostly silent with the only conversation being brief directions as you guided the monster to the shadier part of town. You watched the brothers’ faces as they morphed from relaxed to concerned as the nicer part of the city morphed into dark alleys with lots of shady people and graffiti on the walls. This was the time for you to speak up. “I know that we will probably not be here long but… one of you should definitely stay with the car.”

“i call dibs.” Sans called from the backseat without any hesitation and you saw that Papyrus wanted to say something about it but opted to keep silent instead. After a few more minutes, the three of you were pulling into the parking lot of your house. It rested in a very ghetto-like suburb and you could see the eyes of various humans eyeing the vehicle as Papyrus parked.

Once it was stopped, you got out and with no emotion you gestured to the dilapidated house. “Home sweet home.”

“IT LOOKS LOVELY!” Papyrus was by your side in moments and you had to fight back the eye roll you wanted to give him. You knew for a fact that it didn’t look lovely. The monster was just being polite. 

Windows were broken. The lawn was overgrown enough that you could see it poking out through the layers of snow. Trash was piled everywhere and there were holes in the ceiling. Not to mention that the entire thing just looked dirty. “Yep, a lovely little shithole.” You said without any hesitation. It was pretty bad on the outside and pending on who came over since you were last here… it may even be worse on the inside.

Papyrus ignored your foul language as Sans snorted from the backseat of the car. “HUMAN? WERE YOU EXPECTING COMPANY?” You followed his gaze and sure enough there were lights on in the house that definitely hadn’t been on when you had left for what you assumed would have been the last time.

You visibly deflated. Lots of people came to your house. Most getting in because they knew the locks no longer worked and when they did it was just a simple matter of getting in through the windows. You were afraid that this was going to happen but there was no going back now. “Nope but I’m not really that surprised. They always came in when they wanted even when I didn’t want them too.” Your legs led the way up to the front door and it opened with the usual eerie creak it gave off because it was so old. Heading into the living room with Papyrus on your heels, you stop when a very stoned voice comes from the couch.

“Oh, shiiiiiit! (y/n) is aliiive.” The red-eyed form of a human sat up on the couch and eyed you with a yellow grin. Joe. Childhood friend turned extreme drug junkie by the time you hit high school. He mainly smoked weed but he did harder drugs on occasion when he had the money for it. With that in mind you scanned the room and noticed that it was severely lacking most of the valuables that should have been in the room. More than likely he or someone else who always decided to stop by pawned them for cash. You’ll never see your things again. But if he was here then there was another person here you never wanted to see again. They always stopped by together.“Where have you been? We thought you got kidnapped or somethin.”

“IF YOU THOUGHT SHE WAS KIDNAPPED THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU DO ANYTHING?” Papyrus’s loud voice asked from behind and you froze in your spot. Joe’s eyes went wide and he was off the couch faster than you have ever seen him do in your life.

“Duuuude! What is that thing?!” His voice had a hint of amazement but it was filled with a lot more fear. He may not be the most intimidating guy but when he was on something the man was known to get aggressive or protective of his friends from time to time. Especially when he goes on a bad trip and doesn’t know the people in the room. You have had to physically break up fights over this on several occasions. This moment was no different. Joe’s stance turned aggressive and before even took another step towards the monster you had positioned yourself between them.

“Leave him alone, Joe. He’s a friend.” When the male didn’t seem to connect that you had spoken and continued to advance, you let out a heavy sigh. With a lot more grace than you thought you had, you kicked the stoner’s legs out from under him and he fell face first to the floor. “Seriously, leave the skeleton be.” 

Joe went from looking aggressive to giving you a big grin and laughing the whole while. Like someone flicked a light switch in his brain. Man, drugs did weird things to him. “Okay, okay. Skeletor is friendly. I get it. I gotta say… you look hella rad skeledude.”

Papyrus pushed out his chest proudly and you rolled your eyes at the two of them. The skeleton’s reaction to your aggressive treatment of your friend rather mild compared to what you thought it would be. Then again, he didn’t know anything about you and how your relationship worked. Maybe you’ll explain it all to him later. Well, one crisis averted. Time to deal with another one. You grabbed a nearby backpack and began gathering up essentials from around the house into it. “Joe, where is he?” You called out from the bathroom as you packed your toothbrush, a couple towels, and a few other toiletries.

“Where is who?” Joe was now in full on giggle mode. Whatever he was on was really messing with his emotions.

“You know exactly who.” You stated as you sent a glare to the stoner and headed towards your room to grab some clothes. Those were the last things you needed then this place could go up in flames. If you had your way, you weren’t ever coming back.

Joe finally got up from the floor. “Uh… you should, probably, not go in there.”

“Why no-” You stopped as very familiar noises arose from your bedroom door and the first thing you’ve felt after months of numbness spilled out. Anger. Pure unadulterated anger. With your shoulders shaking, you kicked in your bedroom door to find two very naked people on _your_ bed.

“Joe, what the hell are you- oh hey, babe. Where ya been?” The head of your ex-boyfriend for years popped out from under the duvet along with a chick’s you didn’t know. Nor did you care. Despite the fact that the two of you have been broken up for years, he still tried to treat you as though you were his. Even though, you wanted nothing to do with him and the bastard always had another girl with him.

“Fuck off, Devin.” You briskly walked right by him and over to your dresser. Fully intent on ignoring him while you gathered up the last couple of items you needed so that you could leave.

“Oh, c’mon, sweetheart. I was worried about you, y’know?” Devin’s attention was now fully on you and you resisted the urge to punch his smug face in.

Wallet? Check. A few sets of new clothes and underwear, your phone and charger… what else was missing? “Sure, you were. You just didn’t want to lose the place you like to hook up in.” You scanned your room before settling on your closet. Oh yeah, that’s right. You needed to grab your emergency cash stash… that is if no one else found it first.

Devin scoffed at your words. “No way, babe! I was seriously worried. Also…” He paused as you pulled out a box behind a hidden panel and checked the contents. Amazingly it was all there. What were the odds? “Is that anyway to talk to me after all the time we’ve known each other?” Yes. You deserved all of it and more. But you knew that there was no winning this debate so you kept silent and trudged out of the room. “Hey, wait! I got some important info for you.”

Oh really? That would be a first. More than likely he was going to try and scam you out of the money that he had seen you pull out, so you continued to ignore the jerk. You headed back towards the living room to where you last left Papyrus and found the skeleton tucking in a sleeping Joe on your couch. Man, this guy was to nice. “Paps, I’m ready to go.”

The skeleton perked up at your voice. “WONDE-ahem! Wonderful! Do you mind if we hit up a few stores on the way back? It would be good for you to have your own snacks in the house!”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever. Let’s just go.” Papyrus’s smile dropped at your hasty words and the pissed off look on your face. You were about to turn towards the door when a hand descended onto your shoulder and twirled you around.

“Babe, I’m serious!” Oh great, Devin followed you out with only the blanket to cover him up. Not an image you ever wanted to see. “While I was waiting for you to come home, there was a call on your phone.”

“That’s what phones are for, Devin.” You were back to glaring at the man as you grabbed his hand and ripped it off your shoulder.

“Yes, but-… what is that?” The object of your anger froze as he noticed the rather tall skeleton make his way over from the couch to stand beside you.

“Hello, other human! It is I, the great-” You clapped a hand over Papyrus’s jaw to stop him from introducing himself to these two. You did not want this nice guy associating with these awful people. Noted Joe is more of a lover than a fighter but he has done some bad things in his life. Devin was a lot more violent though and you would be damned if he hurt the skeleton in any way. 

“Wait, was he the reason you just disappeared? Did the monsters do something to you?” Devin took an aggressive step forward and you once again stood between Papyrus and a potential threat.

You shook your head as the man’s eyes narrowed. “No. He didn’t and he wasn’t the reason why I disappeared. I just came home to grab some things is all.”

“The skeleton is hella cool, Devin!” Joe chose the most perfect moment to wake up. “He’s super nice, man. Telling me stories n’ stuff.”

Thanks Joe. Such a good help.

You watched as Devin’s eyes got darker and darker and you knew that this wasn’t going to be good. For some reason, he felt that he still held a claim over you and because of this the man got extremely jealous of other people you associated with. It didn’t matter what you thought of them, if you talked to them then he got pissed. He only wanted you to talk to people that he okayed. Not that you listened. He had no right to even think that he had that kind of power over you.

“Babe, you aren’t allowed to talk to this monster again. YOU!” Devin pointed to Papyrus with hate filling his facial features. “Get out.” Your ex went to forcefully pull you away from your skeletal friend and instead you opted to doing the thing that you’ve wanted to do since you saw him sleeping with another girl… in YOUR bed… _again_. Your empty fist wound back and you punched him in the face.

There was a sickening crack as your knuckles met with Devin’s nose. Breaking it from the sheer amount of force you put behind it. Now that was satisfying though you didn’t like how you had to show so much aggression in front of your new friend. He didn’t need to see this dark side of humanity. “Enough of this, you bastard. We have to get going. Say what you have to say now or else I’m leaving.” It looked bad but you knew that was what you had to do. People like them didn’t listen to you any other way.

Devin growled and went to retaliate only for his hand to be caught by one wearing a red glove. “What the-”

“VIOLENCE IS NOT THE ANSWER HERE BUT I DO AGREE WITH, (Y/N). WE NEED TO GET GOING. WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANTED TO TELL HER?” Papyrus’s smile was strained as your ex tried to get his hand back but the skeleton held firm.

He held on until Devin simmered down and you had stepped out of harms way. “Well?” You moved to stand by the door and arched an eyebrow at the man who was partially the reason why your life was hell.

“Tch.” He yanked his arm out of Papyrus’s grasp and readjusted the blanket over his naked form. “You got a call from Blair House. Your Grandmother’s dead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bet you are all wondering where I went well... Its been quite the ride and not a fun one. The next two chapters are in honor of my Grandmother who passed away January 23rd. The past few months prior had been a mix between work and hospital visits. I'm just glad she isn't in pain anymore...


	6. Cold

It was true.

For once, Devin had held your best interest at heart and had told you something important instead of disregarding it entirely. She was really gone.

Your grandmother had passed away.

Snow gently fluttered around as you stared at the tombstone by your feet. Unlike the others that were covered in ice and snow, this one had been cleared off with the death date newly added under your grandmother’s name. She had passed two days after your suicide attempt and someone else from your distant family, that you had estranged from your life long ago, had to take care of her final wishes. So here she was. Buried six feet under the ground with your grandfather who had passed away several years before her. 

She really was gone.

There was a crunching sound behind your still form but you didn’t even bother to turn around. You felt Papyrus’s gloved hand press reassuringly on your shoulder but you didn’t even acknowledge that he touched you. She was gone. The one good thing that you could even remember was gone. The one person who had given you hope and brought a smile to your face whenever you saw her. The one person you would have laid your life down to protect… was gone.

“Human?” Papyrus’s voice was low, even more so than you have ever heard it before. It should have bothered you like it normally did. You should give him some sort of reaction to show that you understand that he is there for you. That Sans was here for you too but you couldn’t.

“She’s gone…” Your voice had an eerie hollowness to it as the cold weather whipped about causing goosebumps to form on your skin. To say the hours prior had been emotional was an understatement. When Devin had said Blair house and Grandmother, you were already pleading with Papyrus to take you there. You had to find out. You had to make sure that she was okay. That she hadn’t died. That you weren’t officially alone anymore. 

The tall skeleton did not hesitate and you both ran back to the convertible with a confused Sans popping his head up from the backseat at your haste. You were frantic. Borderline hysterical but your two companions didn’t make any mention of it as you sped over to the assisted living facility. Despite the rampant emotions flooding your mind, you managed to convince the skeletons to stay in the car as you entered the building and asked a nurse about your grandmother. You don’t think that the facility would have appreciated lots of their residents dying from the shock of seeing two skeletons walk through the door.

All the staff did was confirm what Devin had said previously. She had passed in her sleep. On her final days, she had gone on hospice and the painkillers she received eventually made it so she slept constantly and left the world without feeling any pain. Her room had already been emptied of her belongings with a new resident moved in. Whichever family member had stepped up made sure that there was nothing left. Fortunately, they had informed the staff of the day that they were going to have the funeral services and with that information it led you to where you were now. She had left without pain. You honestly couldn’t ask for much better than that.

So here you were. Standing by her newly dug grave with the only two people who cared about you in the world standing right behind you. Weren’t you supposed to feel something right now? Anger? Sadness? Despair? Shouldn’t you at least be crying? You certainly had a whirlwind of emotions earlier but now you felt as though you were a hollow husk. It was the coldest you have ever felt internally. There was nothing left. What was the point? What was the point of everything if all you were going to do was end up in a six foot hole?

“Human…?” Papyrus’s voice was a bit higher than previously and it shook a small bit. Again, it should have bothered you to some degree but it didn’t. You were cold. You were numb. Suddenly, you let out a gasp as a sharp pain traveled through your entire body. It hurt. There was so much pain. It felt as though something deep inside… something important… was cracking into a thousand pieces before it shattered. Well this was certainly new. “(Y/N)!”

Finally, you acknowledged the skeleton as you brought a hand up to your chest where the worst of the pain was radiating from. Your knees buckled under your weight as darkness started to pop into your vision while you waited for your body to greet the cold earth. You never even came close.

With quick hands, Papyrus was holding you aloft by your shoulders with orange tears forming in the corners of his eye sockets. The pain inside increasing at the sight. Gingerly, you reached a hand out and wiped away one of his tears that had gotten free. Then your hand fell limp to your side as the world you knew turned to black.

 

“I’m sorry, boys. But there isn’t much more than I can do..” Toriel spoke softly as she continued to try and heal the falling down human before her. The poor thing was almost stable but who knew for how long? Humans and Monsters fell down differently as each person is unique. She could fall into a coma and live for years that way or her organs could simply give out as her body gave up. There was no way to tell for sure.

Papyrus nodded his head solemnly to the former Queen of monsters. His eye sockets never straying from the pale blue heart that was almost entirely grayed out from lack of Hope.

**1/1 HP**

The human now has the same amount of HP as his older brother but hers wasn’t caused by some weird magical defect. It was caused by her own view on life becoming so skewed that she no longer wished to live. Only now there was a chance she wouldn’t even wake up. The large goat monster continued to work for a few moments longer before she returned the human’s SOUL to it’s proper place and she stood up. “Now, boys… I know you are not going to like what I am about to say.” Her voice was low as she spoke but firm. “You both have been working really hard to make sure this human is okay and it is very heartwarming to witness despite all the trouble we have been currently having but… I don’t think we should do much more than this.”

“WHAT?” His voice shook. He had tried to keep it level but failed. Papyrus looked at the queen with a shocked expression. He couldn’t believe what she was saying.

Toriel let out a heavy sigh. “Papyrus… sometimes there are situations that are out of our hands. I understand that you are trying to help her but maybe it would be for the best if you let her go. This is the second time in the matter of days that you have called me up here and the first time I will admit… there was probably a chance that the human could have lived but as of her current state… I was barely able to stitch her SOUL back together. The poor thing is hanging on by a very thin thread. I think that maybe-”

“NO.”

“Wha-what?” Toriel stumbled over her words at Papyrus’s blatant denial. It took a lot to flummox the ex-queen but the normally happy skeleton had done it with ease. “Young one, list-”

“NO.” Papyrus once again cut off the goat monster without any hesitation. “THANK YOU, YOUR MAJESTY. BUT I WILL NOT GIVE UP ON THE HUMAN.”

“Papyrus-”

“PLEASE LISTEN, YOUR MAJESTY.” Papyrus stood tall as he held his gaze level with the queen. The only time he looked away was to see his brother step forward to take a look at the sleeping human on their couch. “I UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU ARE COMING FROM. YOU CAN’T HELP SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T WISH TO HELP THEMSELVES. IT’S COUNTER INTUITIVE AND I DIDN’T KNOW WHY SHE HAD SUCH LITTLE HOPE UNTIL TODAY.” He remembered the dilapidated house and the people awaiting inside. “I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT SHE WAS STARTING TO REGAIN HOPE OR AT LEAST IN THE PROCESS OF IT BEFORE WE WENT TO HER HOUSE.”

“i’m gonna have to stop you there, pap. her HP hadn’t changed since she woke up.” Sans continued to look at the unconscious human before turning to look at his younger brother. “i don’t think it was even close to changing.”

The taller skeleton shook his skull at Sans. “DON’T GIVE ME THAT. I KNOW IT WAS STARTING TO CHANGE.”

“and you know this… how?” The older skeleton monster arched an inquisitive browbone at the younger.

“SANS. WE LEGALLY CANNOT KEEP HER HERE. THAT WOULD BE FALSE IMPRISONMENT. THE ONLY THING KEEPING HER BOUND TO US INITIALLY WAS HOW SICK SHE HAD BEEN. SHE COULD BARELY MOVE.” Papyrus ignored the slightly surprised look on his brother’s face about the knowledge of the human legal system. He knew more than Sans gave him credit for. “THE HUMAN COULD HAVE LEFT TWO DAYS AFTER TORIEL HAD HEALED HER THE FIRST TIME AND THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NOTHING WE COULD HAVE DONE ABOUT IT. INSTEAD, SHE STAYED.”

“huh. never thought about it that way.” the slightly surprised look was replaced with one of contemplation.

Papyrus nodded his head to his brother. Sans wasn’t always one for optimism so it didn’t surprise him in the least. “NOW THAT I WITNESSED A SMALL SNIPPET OF HER OLD LIFE, I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THAT IT HAS BEEN VERY HARD ON HER FOR A VERY LONG TIME. POSSIBLY SINCE SHE WAS A CHILD. NO MATTER WHO WAS IN THAT SITUATION, EVENTUALLY THE SITUATION WILL CHIP AWAY AT THEM. WHETHER THEY SHOW IT ON THE OUTSIDE OR NOT.” This time he looked straight at his older brother and Sans looked anywhere but at him. Some sweat starting to bead down his skull.

“ONE SHOULDN’T HAVE TO BE SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO LOVE AND CARE ABOUT THEM BUT DON’T. OR AROUND PEOPLE WHO DO BAD THINGS ON A FREQUENT BASIS. ONE SHOULDN’T HAVE TO FEEL AS THOUGH THEY ARE WORTHLESS, USELESS, OR BAD BECAUSE THEY FEEL THAT THEY MUST MEET THE EXPECTATIONS OF THOSE MEAN PEOPLE AND I’M ASSUMING THAT THIS IS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.”

“(Y/N) HAS HAD A VERY ROUGH LIFE. ONE THAT IS VERY DARK, SAD, AND FULL OF BAD EXPERIENCES. THAT IS WHAT I LEARNED TODAY.” Papyrus stood straighter as he returned his gaze back to Toriel, who was watching the human solemnly. “NO ONE DESERVES TO FEEL THAT WAY. NO ONE DESERVES TO ONLY EXPERIENCE BAD THINGS AND NOT GET TO HAVE GOOD MOMENTS. HAPPY MOMENTS. TO BE ABLE TO FEEL SAFE. BECAUSE DESPITE ALL OF THE BAD STUFF, SHE IS STILL A GOOD PERSON. SHE PROTECTED ME WITHOUT HESITATION AGAINST OTHERS THAT SHE KNEW WOULD DO ME HARM. EVEN IF IT WAS KIND OF VIOLENT. THEY WOULD NOT LISTEN TO HER UNTIL SHE PUT HER FOOT DOWN.”

“WITH ALL OF THAT SAID, I WILL CONTINUE TO TRY AND SHOW HER THE GOOD THAT THIS WORLD HAS. SHE DESERVES BETTER THAN WHAT SHE HAS BEEN DEALT AND I WILL KEEP TRYING UNTIL THE DAY HER SOUL FINALLY SHATTERS. AT LEAST, SHE WILL HAVE FELT SOME SORT OF LOVE AND CARE BEFORE SHE GOES BECAUSE SHE DESERVES THAT AT MINIMUM. NO ONE SHOULD LEAVE THIS WORLD FEELING AS THOUGH THEY NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN BORN IN IT IN THE FIRST PLACE.” Papyrus moved to sit in front of the human on the floor. His gaze solemn but resolute. 

He completely ignored the shocked look on the ex-queen’s face before it morphed into a soft smile. “You are right, Papyrus. She does deserve at least that much. For now, she is stable. I must get home to make dinner for Frisk but if you need my aid again… please do not hesitate to ask.” With that said, Toriel made her way out the door. Leaving the two brothers be.

Sans moved to sit next to Papyrus and they both watched the human in silence. The sun outside had already begun to set. Oranges and reds that the living room had been bathed in slowly faded as night began to make itself known. “Sans… am I doing the right thing?”

The smaller skeleton opened one of his closed sockets before leaning into the younger’s side reassuringly. “honestly? who knows. maybe it would be better to stop trying but as you said before… she deserves at least that. so, personally, i think ya are. i think the human appreciates it too.”

“You think so?” Papyrus perked up a small bit but the solemn gaze had yet to leave his face.

“mhmm. she wouldn’t be holding on otherwise. patience definitely suits her as her dominant trait. regardless of what you choose, i’ll be here to back you up.” Sans stood up while lightly slapping his brother on the back to get him in gear. The taller skeleton shook his head out of his stupor. “now c’mon. why don’t i reheat up some of that spaghetti you made earlier and you pick a story to read? just because she is asleep doesn’t mean she won’t hear what is said. maybe you’ll give her nice dreams.” 

“You’re right, Sans. I shall pick out the best story in just a moment.” Papyrus still spoke in a low tone. More for the human’s sake than his own. He knew his brother would stand by him. Sans always did. Sure, he voiced opinions and had a more level head but he always supported him in whatever endeavor he tried. It was kind of soothing that he wouldn’t be doing this entirely on his own.

Sans had his signature smile back as he trudged into the kitchen to prep dinner. “c’mon, bro. i wouldn’t _dream_ of you picking a bad one.”

“Oh, quiet Sans!” Papyrus had trouble keeping his voice level as he called back in retaliation. A grin growing on his skull as he heard Sans’s deep chuckles from the other room.

“hey, now. that’s no reason to get s- _nap_ -py with me.”

Papyrus rolled his eye sockets at his brother’s pun but they had done what he had intended. The younger skeleton was smiling again. Before he stood back up, Papyrus grabbed the blanket and properly tucked the human in. His gloved hand gently grazing her cheek as she slept. A smile was on her face and she looked peaceful. The stress and toils of the waking world were temporarily held at bay as she remained in her dreams. “Please don’t give up, (y/n). There is so much out there that you have yet to experience. Things that will put all of the bad in the past so that you can move forward. Be patient… don’t give up.” His voice a whisper as he leaned towards her ear. If she heard him then he couldn’t tell. All he could do now was watch and wait. At that, he made his way upstairs to his room. Ever since you woke up, he had read you a bedtime story to help you sleep. You never objected and he secretly enjoyed reading to another person. Maybe that was why Sans had done it for him regardless of how old he got. He grabbed one of the stories he hadn’t read to you yet and made his way back downstairs, making sure to grab his bed things before he went. With your current condition, you would need to be closely monitored. Toriel lived right down the street but that wouldn’t help if he wasn’t there when you needed him.

Sans was already sitting in his beanbag chair with a bowl of reheated spaghetti in his hands. Another sat on the pushed back coffee table just for him. Papyrus laid out his pillow and blanket in the gap between the couch and table. At least it would be a little bit more comfortable. “pick out a good one?” the smaller skeleton was eyeing the book in Papyrus’s gloved hand.

“OF COU-rse, I did, Sans. Only the best for our esteemed house guest.” The younger skeleton gave off a playfully annoyed huff at his brother’s teasing. “Though… can we read this one together? I like the voices you make for this one.”

“sure thing, pap. come over here so i can see it.”

They read the story while getting into the characters until they reached the very end. By the time they were done, the spaghetti was eaten and the room was pitch black. “Sans?”

“yeah?”

“I hope she wakes up soon.”

“me too, pap. me too.”


	7. Anger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This may be redone later. I literally wrote and finished it today so it's not 100% edited an all that but I really wanted to post it.

What happens when one dies?

Do we go somewhere? Or do we simply not exist anymore?

Would we even know? How would we even know?

Questions that don’t have answers. Not to anyone who is living… then again. What were you at this point?

Pain no longer filled your entire being and the draining feeling that had been going on seemed to have stopped. Leaving you emotionally numb as you pondered the predicament that you were currently in.

You couldn’t see anything other than odd shapes and colors. Sometimes dark. Sometimes lit up so bright that it was borderline painful. Other times it was a muted gray. Regardless, the never ending shapes and patterns remained. They were a constant that was both reassuring and slightly unnerving.

Your body was heavy. You couldn’t move your head. It refused to listen to any of the commands your brain was giving it. Maybe… this was limbo? The place that wasn’t quite living but not quite dead? If so, it wasn’t to bad. A little boring but not a bad place to spend eternity. It would be better if you had the ability of movement.

Was this where your Grandmother was? A plane of nothing but weird shapes, patterns and the like? Could you find a way to talk to her if so? Just what was it that caused you to end up in this odd place to begin with?

There wasn’t anything that had physically hurt you. It had been cold from the winter weather but anything that could have harmed you would have been cast aside by one of the skeleton brothers. Due to your lack of HP and poor outlook on life, the brothers were hyper aware of all objects around your person. Anything that could have been used to harm yourself conveniently was moved out of your sight or reach. Within reason. They didn’t remove your guest toothbrush even though you could probably make a shank out of it if you tried.

So what had caused you to feel that excruciating pain that seemed to engulf your entire being? Was it… was it something SOUL related? Had your maximum HP reached 0 or something? Could that kill a human somehow? All of this was new territory for humans so you had no idea how any of that even worked. The only thing you knew for certain was that Papyrus was trying to raise your HP. 

_Desperately._

You had no doubt that after you fell that he had taken you somewhere to be treated. Probably by that Toriel lady they had mentioned before. It was kind of sad that your sorry existence was putting those caring monsters through the ringer. Though they shouldn’t have tried to save you to begin with. It would have been better if you had drifted off into the darkness without a peep. No one would have cared. Your body wouldn’t have been found until spring. By then, any of your acquaintances would have written you off and gone about their lives. Leaving you as a Jane Doe in a morgue. Now… if you left, you would be hurting people, more than just your Grandmother.

She was probably looking down at you with a somber expression on her face. Wishing that you would get your life on track and get away from the people that seemed to have buried their rusty hooks deeply into your flesh. Making it so that they dragged you down with them.

It was so hard though….

Every time you tried, it was as though you took 2 steps forward and 10 steps back. There was no escape. Save one. Yet, you somehow managed to botch that up too.

Grumbling to yourself, your anger soared as the muted gray of your surroundings changed to the bright light. A muted scuffling sound was being made but you currently ignored it. This time you were not in the mood to be complacent. It was pissing you off. The fucking light hurt but you couldn’t look away. You couldn’t move. Why the hell couldn’t you move?!

“Paps. We need to talk.”

You froze.

That had been a voice.

A rough female voice and she had used Papyrus’s nickname. The scuffling sound now was a lot more important than it had seemed to be a few moments prior.

“What is there to talk about, Undyne? I already know about it. I mean its kind of hard to miss since it’s been in almost every newspaper in the city.” Papyrus’s voice drifted in and without even seeing his face you could feel how tired he was. His normally boisterous voice full of joy and happiness was severely subdued. It was at a normal tone and it had to be for your sake if anything. Your heart dropped. Papyrus shouldn’t sound like that. Somehow you fucked up again. This time you still weren’t sure how it had happened. Yet, somehow you were alive. You just couldn’t move or see. What room were you in?

The female, Undyne, growled and it probably would have been menacing if it had been directed at you. “Are you kidding me? I get that you are trying to help your friend! We all are. But good God does that Devin guy have to be any more of an asshole?”

Wait. Devin?

“You don’t need to remind me. I only met him for a few minutes prior to (y/n) falling down and the only thing that even got through his head was her fist breaking his nose.” There was some shuffling to your left from Papyrus moving around, you assumed. “Who knew he was someone close to her? She seemed to want nothing to do with him when we were there.”

Now it was your turn to growl menacingly. During all the activity of trying to figure out what had happened to your Grandmother, you had forgotten about Devin entirely. If you had been taken to a hospital by the skeleton brothers or something then that man was going to make a fuss while using the “I’m her boyfriend.” trope to get people on his side. Even though you hadn’t been together for years and he had literally been sleeping with some other chick in your bed. 

“What has he done now?” your voice was raspy and cracked from lack of use. You weren’t sure you had even been heard until the shocked gasp that came from Papyrus and a lowly murmured “holy shit.” from the girl in the room. There was some scrabbling and the bright light got even brighter which made you scrunch your eyelids even more than you had already been doing. Making a noise of discomfort as you did.

“Oops. Sorry. Lemme get that out of your face.” Undyne said and the bright light diminished to a much more bearable level. With watering eyes, you opened your eyes to find that the shapes and patterns had been because your eyes had been closed. No doubt they hadn’t opened because you had been sleep paralyzed. Once they had adjusted, you finally could look around the room you were in.

It was some sort of lab. Machines of various lights and monitors filled one side entirely as they ran their programs. Several wires had you hooked up to said machines but none of them were invasive. There wasn’t a needle on your body. Currently leaning over you was the person Paps had called Undyne. She was a fiery haired fish woman with an eyepatch over her left eye. The monster was currently wearing a black tank top and jeans. She was eyeing something just past your head before she stood back up and nodded her head. “There we go. I don’t know why that light was right in her face anyway.”

“Here, human.” The tall stature of Papyrus popped into your view with a glass of water that you graciously accepted. By graciously meaning you ripped it from his hands and chugged it like you were trying to win a contest. The cool water barely sating your throat but enough so that it didn’t hurt to speak.

“Bahahaha. For an almost dead girl, she is surprisingly strong.” The fish monster’s mouth was quirked up in a jag-toothed smirk. Amusement dancing in her eyes.

Almost dead? You know what? Question for another time. There were more important things to deal with right now. “What did Devin do?” You said as you remained in your sitting up position. Slightly amazed that your body was able to move at all.

Papyrus returned with another glass of water and tried to fight back a somber expression that wanted to take over his features. “You just woke up. Relax. We’ll tell you once you are at least able to stand.”

“Bullshit.” The word left your mouth without any hesitation and you turned to the fish woman. “What did that jackass do after whatever happened at my Grandmother’s grave?”

“Don’t you have other questions that you should be asking first?” Undyne quirked her one visible eyebrow at you and you let out a groan. They weren’t going to tell you anything right off the bat. Not really able to think of anything else, you decided to go along with it.

“Fine. How long was I out?” It definitely had to be for a longer length of time than when you had first met the skeleton brothers. Mainly because you must have been in a pretty bad condition if they had you living in a lab. You would have been at their house otherwise. 

“About a month and a half.” the skeleton was the one to answer and you couldn’t help the low whistle that you let out. You definitely beat your old record.

“Okay, where am I at-”

“YOU’RE AT MY PLACE, NERD!” Undyne bellowed out before practically punching the bed as she leaned back down again. Thankfully, her fists missed your legs. With the force you felt, they might have been broken otherwise. “This is one of Alphys’s lab rooms. She knows a lot about all that human SOUL stuff so she was the one that pieced you back together!”

Wait, what? Soul stuff? Pieced back together? Your confusion must have showed on your face because Papyrus began speaking. “When we were at your Grandmother’s resting place… you almost completely ran out of HP. It was such a dramatic drop that your SOUL was on the verge of shattering.” His solemn look turned even more concerned as he spoke. “We managed to get you here in time but even with Alphys’s help, you were the one who decided if you were going to wake up or not. It was highly probable that you could have stayed in that coma for the rest of your natural life.”

Huh. From what little the skeleton had told you about this stuff previously, you had a hunch that HP and SOUL stuff was involved. It was just amazing that you had almost died from it when you were just now figuring out that it even existed. “So lemme guess… Devin found out where you lived and has been harassing you every day since I fell into a coma?”

“Wow, she hit the nail on the head.” Undyne smirked again as Papyrus frowned at his friend. “What? You want me to deny that her boyfriend is being a complete jackass?”

“He’s not my boyfriend.” You said without hesitation. Your hand coming up to rub your temple that was starting to pound from a newly forming headache. “I’ll ask again. What has he been doing since I was out?”

“You really want to know?” The tall skeleton looked reserved. He clearly didn’t want to be talking about this right now because the stress probably was not going to be helpful to you. But you had the right to know and, if you knew Devin, this was only going to get worse before it got better. You nodded your head. “He has been claiming that we kidnapped you and that we are doing experiments on you so that we can have an edge against humans in another war.”

“He also said that Papyrus attacked him and broke his nose! The news caught wind of this and it has been crazy ever since.” Undyne cut in her amusement vanishing into something more serious. “It’s been putting a lot of monsters on edge. Rights talks have been postponed. Riots have broke out. There are even protesters outside of the building right now. Hell, I think Devin is the one leading them today.”

Your eye twitched. The anger that had been simmering under your skin finally found an outlet as you went about taking all of the wires off of your body. “Uh… (y/n), what are you doing? Are you even strong enough to stand?” Papyrus held his hands out to catch you as you slid off of the bed and tried standing only for your legs to give out before you could put any weight on them.

“Take me out front, Paps.”

“What? No! You can’t even walk right now. How are you going to deal with an entire group of people-”

“Take me out front, Paps. _Please_.” your anger was beginning to make the fine hairs on your body bristle. This was all your fault and like hell were you going to allow this bullshit to continue. These kind monsters didn’t deserve this. Sure, they may have been misguided for trying to save your life but that shouldn’t condemn them.

You tried to move towards the door out of the strong skeleton’s grip and he sighed reluctantly. “I’m not going to talk you out of this am I?”

“Hell, no.”

“Fine. Undyne mind heading to the front ahead of us? I can’t use magic properly if I’m carrying someone.” Papyrus easily hefted your weight into his arms and you wrapped your arms around his shoulder to steady yourself.

The smirk on Undyne’s face had turned sinister as she headed out of the room. “With pleasure.” The three of you formed a small parade as the fish monster led the way through the winding hallways to the front of the building. Shouts of several humans grew louder the closer you got and you felt that it was kind of eerie how empty this massive lab/house was.

It didn’t take you long to find out why that was.

Just beyond the glass doors was Sans, a small yellow dinosaur monster, a tall female goat monster, a flame man, a spider woman, a pink and black robot, and an even larger male goat monster. They all stood in a half circle to effectively block access to the hundreds of protestors and reporters. The one human you wanted to take your anger out on was front and center with an air of smugness that only he could achieve.

“Put me down, Paps.”

“What? You could barely stand a moment ago.” The skeleton looked at you skeptically.

“Put me down. I’ll be fine.” At least, for a short while. The volatile combination of angry energy and adrenaline was making it so you were vibrating in his hold. Just what the hell was wrong with these people?

With another reluctant sigh, Papyrus put you down but kept a hand on your shoulder so that he could catch you if you swayed. It took a couple of seconds for your legs to listen. Then you followed Undyne out of the building and into the direct sight of the protesting humans. Their yells increasing when they noticed your presence.

“So it was true!”

“The kidnapped woman!”

“You horrible creatures!”

“Back to the Underground with you!”

Those words and more were hurled at the monsters creating a barricade between you as Devin noticed your presence. His pitiful nose was still wrapped up.

“BABE!” He ran forward and tried to push past Sans and the fire man only to be stopped with ease.

“you aren’t going anywhere, bud. not unless she wants to talk to you.” The small skeleton’s voice was the lowest you have ever heard it. The only other time was when you first met him in Papyrus’s room and even then the memory was hazy from the fever you had. It hadn’t made you flinch but Devin stopped dead in his tracks. His fear made worse when the fire man stepped forward to back up the other monster.

“Dude, just lemme see my girlfrie-”

“I’m NOT your girlfriend.” You practically yelled out to cut the man off as well as to be heard over the protesters. At your words, the protesters died down. The anger you felt had you strolling forward in your medical gown confidently to stand in the gap between Sans and the fire monster. “I haven’t been your girlfriend for years yet you still claim that you are my boyfriend. Get the HELL out of my life already.”

The confident facade that Devin had been showing began to crumble as a few of the protesters began to question what was going on. “Haha… funny. They must have done something to you in there to make you think that. C’mon, let’s just get you safely away from these creatures and get you home…” he grabbed your arm and something within you snapped.

With all the strength you could muster, your fist whipped up and socked Devin right in the nose. It made another satisfying crunching sound as you broke it for the second time. “Shut the HELL UP. They aren’t creatures, they are people. SENTIENT PEOPLE. KIND PEOPLE.” You strode forward some more. Past Sans and the fire guy with Papyrus right behind. Devin stumbled back clutching his nose in pain and the protesters followed with him, making the small gap between the monsters significantly wider. “THIS MAN IS A BAD PERSON. HE’S A DRUG DEALER WHO USES OTHERS TO GET WHAT HE WANTS. HAVE ANY OF YOU PEOPLE EVEN BOTHERED TO FACT CHECK AND LOOK UP HIS ARREST RECORD?”

A couple more steps forward. They took even more back. Your unbridled rage oozing out of every pore. “THESE PEOPLE WEREN’T EXPERIMENTING ON ME. THEY WEREN’T HURTING ME. THEY DID THE ONE THING ALL THE HUMANS IN MY LIFE COULDN’T DO.” More steps forward. The gap was large enough for a car to drive through now. “WANNA KNOW WHAT THEY DID?” Some of the protesters nodded. Others had their eyes wide with fear but none of them dared to speak up.

“THEY SAVED ME.”

Your body fell forward and you had to brace yourself before you face planted into the concrete. Heavy pants made your chest heave from the physical excursion. Your voice was hoarse from yelling and lack of use. Still you pushed on because your patience had finally reached an end. You’ve had enough.

You raised your head and sent a formidable glare to the group of humans in front of you. “NOW LEAVE ME AND THESE KIND MONSTERS ALONE FOR FUCKS SAKE. GET A LIFE!” You continued to stand tall until the crowd slowly began to disperse. It was only then that you realized that among the reporters there were cameramen. Your entire spiel had been on live TV more than likely. “ALSO I WAS THE ONE WHO BROKE THAT FUCKER’S NOSE!”

Whatever. Maybe someone would learn from it.

Eventually, your body began to tremble as the adrenaline and anger left your system but you remained resolute. You continued to stand between the monsters and protesters until all of the humans were gone. Unfortunately making your body entirely spent in the process.

“Papyrus? Could you do me a favor?” You finally spoke, hoarsely and just above a whisper. The tall skeleton monster remained behind you as silent back up the entire time. The others had not left their positions earlier either.

He stepped forward and you felt his hand on your shoulder. “OF COURSE! WHAT DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE WITH?”

The fact that he was at normal volume again almost had you sagging in relief but instead you felt the hint of a smile on your face. A real smile. One you haven’t done in a long time. “Could you catch me?” Your legs gave out and you were swooped up into the strong skeleton’s arms as if you were a rag doll. There was no doubt that in the past couple of months you had lost a lot of weight. Your head lolled against his chest and you let out a relieved sigh.

“Thank you.”


	8. It was the nose

The human was dozing off in his arms. All of the energy she had gained from her long slumber was now gone, not that there had been a lot to begin with.Without really thinking about it, Papyrus shifted her fragile form slightly so that he had a better grip. Her light weight was still very unnerving but fortunately she had gained a little bit since she had been staying with his brother and himself. Eventually, she would get back to a healthier weight.

Papyrus kept the long sigh he wanted to emit to himself as he made his way back into Alphys’s house. He quietly made his way towards the room you had been staying in so that he could lay you back down to rest. There was no way that dealing with the protesters the way you had could have helped you physically. Your body was practically trembling with the excursion to keep you standing before he caught you. It was a small miracle that you were even slightly awake.

All of the other monsters watched as he carried you inside. A stunned yet respectful silence stretching out among all of them. Other than Sans, in the month that followed your initial hospitalization, everyone had learned of what you had been through. What you had done to yourself. To a point. They all had their varying opinions on the matter but even if they disagreed… they supported his endeavor in trying to help with more than a few making their opinions known how it was a lost cause.

So the fact that the first thing you did when you woke up was to protect the monsters who have been fighting to save the life you were trying to rid yourself of… surprised them. One of those surprised was his best friend. The current best friend that was following close behind him while looking at the human in his arms with the biggest grin on her face. If it stretched any further then it would look like her head was cracked in half. 

“Undyne… what are you doing?” Papyrus kept his voice at a normal volume. There wasn’t a need to whisper since the poor girl was completely out now and only his normal volume was likely to wake her at this point.

“Lookin’ at the human…. Paps…. DUDE!” Undyne hopped forward and clapped the skeleton heavily on the shoulders so that she could peer over easier. “I thought she was just some weakling! You didn’t tell me she was a fucking firecracker!”

“’dyne… language.” Sans spoke up from further down the hall causing the more intimidating fish monster to move ahead so that Papyrus was between her and the small skeleton. Creating a rather effective barrier.

“KID ISN’T HERE, SANS! SUCK IT UP!” She yelled back and Papyrus hissed before looking down at the human in his arms. 

She continued to sleep without noticing a thing. “Undyne… Could you please keep it down?”

“Oh please. I could scream loud enough to wake the dead and she wouldn’t wake up right now.” the fish monster brushed it off as they neared the human’s room/lab. “It’s just… from what you told us. I was NOT expecting that straight forward and intimidating response from someone who has been essentially killing herself since you met her.” Undyne moved out of the way as they arrived at your door and Papyrus headed in to place her on the bed.

Alphys was already in their bustling about the machines looking anxiety ridden and out of breath. “There she is! I-I heard the alarms for flat-lining go off and when I got here she was gone… and oh! Where was she?” The poor monster had to have been worried sick but there hadn’t of been a lot of time between the human being awake and her decision to deal with all of the other humans.

“YOU MISSED IT! THIS GIRL IS BADASS AS HELL!” Undyne enthusiastically pointed to the slumbering human on the bed. “SHE GOT ALL OF THE PROTESTORS TO GO AWAY WITH NOTHING OTHER THAN BEING ROYALLY PISSED OFF AND BREAKING SOMEONE’S NOSE!”

The little dinosaur monster’s eyes went wide behind her glasses as she went about hooking the human back up to the machines. “R-really?”

“YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT! I COULD FEEL THE RAGE COMING OFF OF HER IN DROVES.” the fish monster clutched her fists tightly while her body practically vibrated with excitement. “I just can’t believe they listened to her so easily.”

“when a patience SOUL speaks up, it’s hard not to listen. right, alphys?” Sans sauntered in and deposited himself on the only chair in the room with the gravity of someone who had worked out all day. Causing Papyrus to roll his eye sockets at his older brother but kept his mouth shut. The small skeleton had been the first to defend the human when the protesters started showing up and he had nothing but appreciation for the effort his brother put into helping the human awaken.

Sans didn’t like putting effort into a lot of things. He only put effort into things he truly cared about and even then… it wasn’t always 100%. Yet, the smaller skeleton kept his word and hadn’t left Papyrus alone in this entire ordeal. Even going so far as to help Alphys bring the human’s SOUL back from the brink of shattering. “rather surprised she woke up when she did though.”

“I-I’m glad, she did.” Alphys nodded her head while walking back over to the the monitor that was now doing a scan of the human’s health. “I just wish I knew w-what caused her to do so… I-it would probably help in the long run i-if we knew the reason..” The scientist trailed off as she read through the vitals that flew across the screen as new information replaced it. “So… what of the protesters?”

“what about ‘em?”

“Nothing is going to happen if that is what you mean.” Papyrus spoke up. He moved so that he was leaning against the wall by the human’s headboard. “Not only was there protesters but pretty much every local news network was there recording. No doubt live. (y/n) let her opinion on the issue out loud and clear. Almost all of the humans in the area probably saw something about. That is if it hasn’t already gone viral. Sure, her speech will be skewed in one direction or the other later but the message itself rang clear.”

“Not to mention that she called all of the reporters out on their bullshit. Ooooh all of the fucking passion she displayed when she shut those bastards down!” Undyne’s sharp toothed grin was back in full force. “They’ll HAVE to back off for a little while.”

“yeah. we got a small reprieve but not much. they won’t back off until she isn’t standing in a hospital gown calling them out.” Sans cracked one of his eye sockets open. “she has to be healthy calling them out before they do that. on that note, how is our _patient_ patient, doc?” 

“SANS! You can do better than that.” Papyrus cut in. His normal volume returning briefly before he reigned it back in. Fortunately, the human didn’t even notice. The only movement that he could notice was the subtle up and down of her chest as she breathed. Further proof, that despite everything, that she was alive. Still, Sans had cracked better jokes than that and even though puns are fun there are times when one can do better with them.

The smaller skeleton’s grin grew just marginally wider as a result. “sorry, bro.”

“Well… um…” Alphys eyed the screen that had finally stopped on a few lines instead of the flowing of information from before. “I know why she woke up.”

“REALLY?!” Papyrus and Undyne chorused in unison while Sans sat a little bit straighter in his chair.

The small monster pointed to a line of text without looking away from it but it was to small to read from the other monsters’ current positions. “Her maximum HP increased. It’s no longer at one. See?” She hit a few keys on the keyboard and the human’s stats were brought up on a much bigger monitor in the room. The one stat they wanted to see the most seeming to pop out from the rest.

**HP: 12/2**

“it actually increased… but how? that’s almost an impossible thing to do.” Sans was now out of his chair as he moved to join Alphys at the monitor. “her outlook on life had to of changed to even consider the maximum limit raising.”

“I think it was because she broke that one guy’s nose.” Undyne chimed in. “I’ll be more than happy to hunt that guy down so she can do it again.” Despite the upbeat look on her face, there was a very menacing tone to the ex-captain’s voice as she spoke. Damien had made a rather bad enemy by trying to get monsters in trouble.

“She was already awake for that, Undyne.” The tall skeleton shook his head. “Her maximum more than likely raised before she woke up.” That was his theory, at least. The maximum of one had been a drastic drop. There was a possibility that the brief coma was a cause of the body adjusting to the new limit but she also very well didn’t have to wake up at all. Yet, she still chose to anyway. What had happened during the poor girl’s slumber?

“The nose punch definitely helped. Y’know, physical therapy. To that guys face.” Her grin grew at each word she said.

“I-I don’t think he w-would appreciate that.”

“Yeah, because that’s the second time she broke his nose in the span of a month.” Papyrus stated while still looking at the HP stat on the screen.

“well, that’s what he gets for _nosing_ around in her business all the time. it’s _snot_ like she hid her views on the matter.” Sans stood back and looked at the human laying on the bed. “but at least she is getting some rest. she is gonna need to keep that HP above maximum until we find out how to raise it even more.”

“R-right! I’m going to go analyze a-all of the data. W-want to come with me Sans?” Alphys wrung her hands but there was excitement in her eyes. If anyone should be excited on the human waking up it would be Alphys. She worked overtime to try and get the human into a stable state.

Sans nodded his head. “sure. i’ll _skullk_ around a bit.” His pun eliciting a groan from Undyne but the yellow scientist was to in the zone to care. She waddled out of the room as quickly as her feet would allow with Sans following at a much more languid place. Despite the slow pace, he was more than likely going to beat Alphys into the lab with a shortcut anyway.

“Sooooooo, Paps. What are you going to do now?” Undyne moved so that she was propping her head at the end of the human’s bed with her head in her hands. Her single sharp eye boring into the unconscious girl with the toothy grin ever present on the fish monster’s face.

The tall skeleton raised a brow bone at his best friend. “What do you mean? I’m going to keep what I’ve been doing now that she has woken up.”

“You’re going to keep her at your house and protect her from the harsh world forever?” Her good eye moved so that it was looking at Papyrus.

“No. She can leave anytime she wants too. She always had that option, Undyne.” He gently moved some hair out of the slumbering girl’s face. Something that he had been doing out of habit ever since she fell into a coma. A lot had happened in such a short amount of time. Attempted suicide, recovery, then the almost entire loss of HoPe leaving the human in a poor stat physically and mentally. Despite having every opportunity to finally be rid of the waking world, the human stayed in it. She didn’t have to wake up. She could have remained asleep until her body gave out but that wasn’t the case. Instead, not only did she wake up but she fought to protect those who had fought to keep her alive. The human may be a Patient SOUL but she also had strong traits of Justice and Integrity that allowed her to fight back against her own mind to protect the things she cared about. “(y/n) has been alone in a crowd for a very long time. Most people in her life failing to give the compassion, love, and friendship that any sentient being really needs. I know this may backfire someday. I know that it could all be going well and that she may have a very bad day. To the point that she finally succeeds in taking her own life. Regardless, I will be there until that day comes. I want to be there for her so the bad days… aren’t so bad. Just like you, Sans, Lady Asgore, and the others all do for me unconditionally.”

“As long as she is willing to fight for her life… even for us, I will support her. Just as you are doing for me right now.” The human would probably deny the fact that she was fighting for her own life at this very moment but… that was exactly what she was doing. She didn’t have to stay. The fact that she woke up at all was still baffling. She could have remained asleep but instead she woke up with a vengeance. A strong and righteous vengeance.

“Awwwww, Paps. YOU ADORABLE SAPPY NERD!” the next thing he knew, he was in a choke hold next to the bed with Undyne noogeying the top of his skull in a rough but very affectionate manner.

“U-UnDYNE!” He struggled in her hold but he knew that it would be in vain unless he suplexed her. There was no way he was going to do that in what was essentially a hospital room. “PLEASE DON’T NOOGEY THE SKELETON!”

The fish monster finally relented but refused to release him from the hold right away. “Man, you are great at speeches! It’s no wonder that you are the mascot of monsters. Speaking of… y’know that you HAVE to go to those talks again soon right? We need more monsters at the table. What are you going to do about sleeping beauty?”

That… was actually a rather good question. With the protesters hounding the house, talks for monster rights had been put on hold so that they could deal with the rising anti-monster threat that Damien had brought about in his attempt to get you back under his hold. There would be times where he could be gone for days in another state or city so that he could help the monster ambassador and Asgore. Leaving the human alone with her current state of mind was out of the question and he couldn’t ask his brother to keep an eye on her the entire time. Sure, Sans liked the human. He wanted to help her too and he was trying his hardest to help her SOUL. But he also had other jobs. Other things to do in his life. He couldn’t watch the human like she would need to be as her mind worked away from its self destructive habits.

Yes, she was an adult who could make her own decisions. He didn’t want to make her feel as though she was being guarded or trapped. It was just.. with where she was at, it would be better if she wasn’t alone. They didn’t have to be right next to her. Just nearby. A presence. That was all. “TO BE HONEST… I HADN’T THOUGHT THAT FAR AHEAD. I WAS MORE WORRIED ABOUT GETTING HER TO WAKE UP FIRST.” Which was true. There wouldn’t be a point to setting up other things if she never woke up.

“WELL, NO WORRIES! SHE CAN STAY WITH ME AND ALPHYS ANYTIME!” Undyne put her hands on her hips with a determined expression on her face. “Then again, she is probably going to be hanging out here for a little while anyway.”

“ARE YOU SURE?” It would be the most logical solution. Alphys worked in a lab but she could also work from home. Undyne was a physical trainer and she could do the same thing essentially. It was the perfect set up.

“OF COURS-”

“fish lady…” a small raspy voice barely above a whisper had both monsters freezing and looking to the bed to see the human staring at them. “Shut. Up.” The glare that Undyne received before the human rolled to the side so that her back was to the two monsters had her laughing up a storm. “I SAID SHUT THE HELL UP!”

“Bahahahaha, I LOVE THIS HUMAN! She can stay as long as she wants.” Undyne was snickering as she spoke and Papyrus rolled his eyes.

“QUIET!”

“Undyne, let’s leave so she can get some sleep.” The tall skeleton shook his head and ushered his best friend out of the room.

“Alright, alright, I’m going. I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone.” With that, Undyne practically skipped out of the room leaving Papyrus to stare at her in disbelief.

Lovebirds?


End file.
